Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Key Candidates Contesting In Phase 6

Elections 2019: Sheila Dikshit is invoking the work done during her three terms.

Over 10.17 crore voters across seven states will decide the fate of the candidates contesting in the 59 seats that will go to polls in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections today. Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, senior Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia are among the 979 candidates contesting in this phase. In Delhi, where all the seven seats are voting today, the heads of the state unit of the BJP, Congress and AAP are contesting each other in the same seat.

Here is your 10-point cheat sheet of key candidates in Phase 6 of 2019 Lok Sabha Polls:

Bhopal has grabbed a lot of attention after the BJP fielded Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, against senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh. Since then, Digvijay Singh peddled the 'soft Hindutva' line by roping in seers while Pragya Thakur highlighted her alleged torture in police custody to win the sympathy of voters in the constituency.
In Delhi, three-time Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is locked in a triangular contest with Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and AAP's Dilip Pandey in North East Delhi seat. Ms Dikshit is invoking the work done during her three terms.
Meanwhile, cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir is BJP's candidate in East Delhi. AAP's Atishi and Arvinder Singh Lovely of the Congress are his main rivals. Atishi had recently accused Mr Gambhir of creating and distributing a pamphlet containing sexist attacks and derogatory comments. Mr Gambhir had replied that he would "hang myself in public" if there was evidence linking him.
AAP's Atishi, meanwhile, is banking on her role in transforming Delhi government schools. The AAP candidate enjoys considerable goodwill and support for her work in the field of education. Atishi was forced to drop her surname 'Marlena' after political opponents started spreading rumours over her religious beliefs.
Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar has been shifted to Morena this election by denying ticket to former MPs Anup Mishra and Ashok Argal. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP's Anoop Mishra had contested against Congress's Brindawan Singh Sikarwar and had defeated him by a margin of 132,981 votes. Since 1996, Morena, the birthplace of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has constantly voted for the BJP.
Jyotiraditya Scindia has held the Guna seat in Madhya Pradesh comfortably since 2002 and there is little evidence that he will be toppled this time around. Mr Scindia is up against BJP's KP Yadav. Guna is a Scindia stronghold and the seat has been won by the Congress leader's father and grandmother in the past. Since Mr Scindia has been busy in western Uttar Pradesh, his wife Priyadarshini Raje had been campaigning on the seat in his absence.
Varun Gandhi, the sitting MP from Sultanpur, is contesting from his mother Maneka Gandhi's constituency, Pilhibit this time. The seat has elected his mother to Parliament from the seat six times. Varun Gandhi is up against Samajwadi Party's Hemraj Verma, who also has the BSP's backing.
Professional boxer Vijendra Singh is making his electoral debut from South Delhi. Mr Singh is locked in a triangular contest against AAP's Raghav Chadha and BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri. The Congress is banking on Mr Singh, a Jat, to polarise the community votes. South Delhi has a sizable Jat population.
Former Congress Delhi chief Ajay Maken is contesting from the New Delhi seat. He is up against BJP's incumbent MP Meenakshi Lekhi and AAP's Brijesh Goyal. Mr Maken had won from the seat in 2004 and 2009, but finished third in 2014. The Congress leader, eyeing support of a large number of government employees in the constituency, accused the BJP of "ruining" public sector enterprises and claimed people are looking at the Congress for an able government.
In neighbouring Haryana, Dushyant Chautala is seeking second Lok Sabha term for Jannayak Janata Party in Hisar. He is locked in a triangular fight with Bhavya, the grandson of late three-time Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, and Brijendra Singh who is the son of Union minister Birender Singh.