As campaigning for the Phase 5 seats concludes, political parties shift their focus to the upcoming Phase 6 elections, which include all seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi and all ten in Haryana.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after addressing rallies in Haryana’s Ambala and Sonipat, is poised to hold his inaugural rally of the election campaign in the national capital. The rally, scheduled at a Delhi Development Authority ground, is strategically located within the vicinity of three Lok Sabha constituencies – East, North East, and Chandni Chowk.
In the past two Lok Sabha polls, the BJP clinched all seven seats in Delhi, maintaining a stronghold that neither the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) nor the Congress could challenge. However, this time, the BJP faces a formidable alliance between the AAP and Congress. With a 4-3 split between the AAP and Congress, Delhi is among the few states where the opposition parties are coordinating efforts.
Employing an aggressive strategy, the BJP has replaced six of its seven sitting MPs (excluding Manoj Tiwari in North East Delhi), likely in a bid to mitigate anti-incumbency sentiments. Among the notable replacements are former Union ministers Harsh Vardhan and Meenakshi Lekhi, as well as cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir and singer Hans Raj Hans.
New faces introduced by the BJP include first-time candidate Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of the late Sushma Swaraj, and Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Delhi Assembly’s Leader of Opposition.
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While campaigning intensifies, attention remains on whether Modi will address the Swati Maliwal alleged assault case, which has sparked protests from the BJP against the AAP. Maliwal, a Rajya Sabha MP, accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar of various offenses at the AAP chief’s official residence.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi leads the charge in Delhi, holding a rally in Chandni Chowk shortly after Kejriwal campaigned for Congress candidates in the city. The Congress, contesting in Chandni Chowk, North East Delhi, and North West Delhi, has released manifestos focusing on local issues for each constituency.
The Congress has fielded Jai Prakash Agarwal in Chandni Chowk, Kanhaiya Kumar in North East Delhi, and former BJP MP Udit Raj in North West Delhi.
Rahul is also scheduled to address rallies in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki, which goes to polls on May 20.
Meanwhile, in Telangana, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy convenes a Cabinet meeting to address pending issues related to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, as the 10th anniversary of the bifurcation approaches on June 2.
The meeting will discuss the division of various institutions and corporations between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, along with pending matters such as the payment of power dues and farm loan waivers, which were electoral promises of the ruling Congress. Additionally, deliberations will include paddy procurement and an action plan for the upcoming Kharif season.
