With just a day left for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 19, let’s take a look at the big names between the BJP-led NDA and the opposition India Bloc.

The Coimbatore Lok Sabha seat will witness a high-stakes battle with Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai facing DMK leader Ganapathy P Rajkumar and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagam AIADMK’s Singai Ramachandran.

The candidacy of the Tamil Nadu president signals the BJP’s efforts to increase its influence in South India.

K Annamalai faces stiff competition from parties like DMK and AIADMK, which have a significant following and significant influence in Tamil Nadu.

Annamalai said in a post on , for Coimbatore to embark on the path of development, I implore all voters of Coimbatore Assembly to vote for the Lotus symbol.”

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will be eyeing a third consecutive win from the Nagpur seat in Maharashtra.

The seat will witness a contest between senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari and Congress candidate Vikas Thakre, who is currently the seat of Nagpur Member of Parliament for Erxi Province.

Recently, Nitin Gadkari released a ‘Vachan Nama’ (manifesto) for the Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency.

“We plan to open an organic fruits, vegetables and foodgrains market in Nagpur,” he said.

“I am 101% sure of my victory. This time I will win the election with a very good advantage. With the support of the public, their enthusiasm, and the hard work of party members, I will do my best to win the election.” Lead More than half a million,” Gadkari said after the party announced his name.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Nitin Gadkari won with a high vote share of 55.7%. He defeated the current Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole by a margin of 2,16,009 votes.

Jitin Prasada, who quit Congress in 2021, was one of the prominent names in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, replacing two-time Pilibhit MP Varun Gandhi.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) showed an outright majority in the Janata Party in the previous two Lok Sabha elections, winning a majority of seats.

The Samajwadi Party fielded Bhagwant Saran Gangwar and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) fielded Anees Ahmes Khan against Jitin Prasada.

Jitin Prasada won the 2004 Shahajahanpur election and the 2009 Dharura seat election.

In the 2019 elections, BJP leader Feroze Varun Gandhi won in Pilibhit with a remarkable mandate of 704,549 votes and 59.4% vote share.

Former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi is contesting from Gaya assembly seat in Bihar. The election holds great political significance for the 79-year-old Manji.

Gaya has the largest number of candidates, with 14 candidates. In the 2024 elections, the BJP has left the Gaya (reserved) seat to its ally Hindustan Awam Morcha Secular Party (HAM-S).

Jitan Ram Manjhi and former minister and RJD candidate Kumar Sarvjeet are in the electoral fray.

The seat was earlier represented in the Assembly by JD(U)’s Vijay Kumar alias Vijay Manjhi.

In the last Lok Sabha elections, the JD(U) candidate defeated Manjhi by a margin of over 1.52 lakh votes. Manji’s HAM was part of the grand coalition in the last election.

Jitan Ram Manjhi had earlier said that whenever they go, everyone raises slogans of “Abki Baar 400 paar”.

“Wherever we go, everyone is shouting slogans of ‘Abki baar 400 paar’. People themselves are saying that they will vote for Prime Minister Modi. We do not see any challenge,” he said.

The BJP is leaving no stone unturned in vying for Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh, the only seat won by the Congress in the 2019 elections.

Nakul Nath, son of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath, once again contests from Chhindwara seat with BJP candidate Vivek Bondi Vivek Bunty Sahu, who lost the last two assembly elections to Kamal Nath.

The BJP has shown that it has an edge in the Hindi heartland states in the recent assembly polls.

In the 2019 elections, Congress leader Nakul Nath polled a total of 47.1% of the votes, while the defeated BJP candidate polled 44.1% of the votes.

Madhya Pradesh has a total of 29 Lok Sabha seats.

After submitting his nomination papers, Nakul Nath said, “I have full confidence that the people of Chhindwara will once again extend their love and blessings to me.”

The Jorhat seat in Assam will decide whether Gaurav Gogoi, deputy leader of Congress’ Lok Sabha, also enters the elected House this time.

The constituency is considered a BJP stronghold.

However, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi decided to contest the elections from Jorhat instead of Kaziranga (formerly Kaliabor), his family’s stronghold (Kaliabor) — where he is a member of parliament — makes the competition interesting.

Incumbent MP Topon Kumar Gogoi will contest against Gaurav Gogoi. In the 2019 elections, Topen polled 5,43,288 votes while Congress candidate Susanta Borgohain polled 4,60,635 votes.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)