Key Battles Of Lok Sabha Phase 3 Elections: Amit Shah To Supriya Sule's 'Battle of Baramati'

May 7 will mark the start of phase three of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in India. The first phase of the elections—held on April 19 for 102 seats across 21 states and union territories—saw a voter turnout of around 66.14%. While the second phase of the elections, which was held on April 26 for 88 seats, saw a voter turnout of around 66.71%.

During this phase, a total of 94 seats across 10 states and two union territories will witness contests, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party has already won Surat unopposed and the voting for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir has been deferred to May 25. 

Several states will host voting, including all 25 seats in Gujarat, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 11 seats in Maharashtra, 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh, eight in Madhya Pradesh, four seats in Assam, five seats in Bihar, seven seats in Chhattisgarh, and four seats in West Bengal. Polling will also take place in two seats from Goa, two seats from Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and one seat from Jammu and Kashmir.

While the previous two phases saw battles between heavyweight Union Ministers, former Chief Ministers, and Bollywood actors, the third phase is all set to witness political biggies trying to hold on to their seats and battles between families. Prominent candidates in the third phase include Amit Shah, Supriya Sule, Dimple Yadav, Jyotiraditya Scindia, SP Singh Baghel, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Digvijaya Singh, among others.

Here is a look at the heavyweight battles in this phase.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is revving up for another round in the electoral ring, eyeing a second consecutive term from the crucial seat of Gandhinagar, previously ruled by BJP heavyweight LK Advani. Shah faces competition from Congress candidate Sonal Patel, an architect by profession and the All India Congress Committee secretary.

Will Shah secure another victory or will Patel's architectural expertise build a new political landscape? The BJP's winning streak since 1989 adds an extra layer of intrigue to this high-stakes battle.

Popularly called the 'Battle of Baramati', the Maharashtra seat will see Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule battle it out against her sister-in-law and Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar. Baramati has been long dominated by Sharad Pawar and his kin.

The once unbeatable stronghold faces unprecedented turmoil as Ajit Pawar, defying his familial ties, aligned with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena-BJP coalition.

Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri constituency will see Samajwadi Party's Dimple Yadav battle it out with BJP's Jaiveer Singh and Shiv Prasad Yadav of the Bahujan Samaj Party in the upcoming elections.

Dimple Yadav, wife of former state Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, won the seat in the 2022 by-election, which was prompted by the passing of SP stalwart Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Karnataka's Shimoga constituency will witness a fight between children of two former Chief Ministers. BJP's BY Raghavendra, the son of sitting MP and veteran leader BS Yediyurappa and Congress' Geetha Shivarajkumar, daughter of former Chief Minister late S Bangarappa will lock horns here.

The contest has become even more intriguing with BJP dissident leader KS Eshwarappa entering the fray.

Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha seat will see a showdown between former Chief Minister and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Congress' Pratap Bhanu Sharma.

Its Vasava vs Vasava in Gujarat's Bharuch. In a significant electoral showdown, Aam Aadmi Party's Dediapada MLA Chaitar Vasava will confront BJP's six-time incumbent MP Mansukhbhai Vasava in a constituency long dominated by the saffron party. This constituency, one of the two allocated by Congress to its INDIA bloc partner in the state, holds historical significance as the former stronghold of the late Ahmed Patel.

Adding to the political mix, Dilip Vasava, son of the revered tribal leader Chhotu Vasava, entered the fray under the Bharatiya Adivasi Party banner. The electoral battle is further intensified by the participation of independent candidate Dharmendra Vasava and BSP's Chentan Vasava.

The Guna constituency in Madhya Pradesh has seen the BJP swap out its current MP for Jyotiraditya Scindia, who will fight it out with Rao Yadavendra Singh Yadav, who had defected to the Congress in 2023. Notably, Scindia had also turned and joined BJP after facing defeat under the Congress banner in 2019.

Union Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Narayan Rane is diving headfirst into the electoral fray, donning the BJP colors in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg-Ratnagiri constituency. He will be facing Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Vinayak Raut, the current member of parliament from the seat.