Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase 2 Full Candidates List: After witnessing an overall voter turnout of 62 per cent, with West Bengal recording the highest at 81.91 per cent in the first phase of the 18th Lok Sabha elections on April 19, the stage is all set for the second of seven phases of the general polls. In the second phase, a total of 89 constituencies are set to go to poll, covering 12 states and 1 UT on April 26.

In the second phase, the following states will cast their votes: Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (3), Karnataka (14), Madhya Pradesh (7), Uttar Pradesh (8), West Bengal (3), Maharashtra (8), Rajasthan (13), Manipur (1), Kerala (20), Tripura (1), Jammu and Kashmir (1), and Assam (5).

Following the second phase, subsequent rounds of voting are scheduled on May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, leading up to the final phase on June 1. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Key Candidates

1. Rahul Gandhi (Wayanad)

Congress MP and former party president Rahul Gandhi is vying for his second victory from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in the southern region. However, this time, the competition is expected to be tougher for Gandhi. The BJP has nominated its state president K Surendran, while the ruling Left has put forward Annie Raja as contender against Gandhi. In the 2019 elections, Gandhi shifted to Wayanad after losing Amethi to Union Minister Smriti Irani by a significant margin of more than 55,000 votes. In Wayanad, Gandhi secured 706,367 votes against CPI’s PP Suneer, winning by a substantial margin of over 7 lakh votes. Gandhi’s decision to contest from Wayanad was not solely due to his loss in Amethi but also because the seat has been a Congress stronghold since the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

2. Hema Malini (Mathura)

Hema Malini, a renowned Indian actress, director, producer, and politician, has been representing the Mathura constituency in the Lok Sabha since 2014 from Bhartiya Janta Party ticket. As she aims for re-election for the third time, she is up against Mukesh Dhangar, the Congress candidate and the state president of the Congress unit in Uttar Pradesh. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Hema Malini secured a significant victory in the Mathura constituency. She garnered approximately 5,30,000 votes, triumphing over her closest rival Kunwar Narendra Singh of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) by an impressive margin of over 2,93,000 votes. Mathura Lok Sabha constituency, located in the largest constituency of Uttar Pradesh, comprises five assembly segments within the Mathura district. It has emerged as a stronghold of the BJP in recent years, with the party clinching victories in both the 2014 and 2019 elections.

3.Shashi Tharoor (Thiruvananthapuram)

Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor has been consistently winning the Thiruvananthapuram seat since 2009. A former UN diplomat, Tharoor is one of the most popular Congress leaders in Kerala. His reputation was further enhanced after he contested, albeit unsuccessfully, the Congress presidential election in October 2022. Even during the 2014 elections, which presented one of his toughest challenges following his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s demise, Tharoor managed to retain his seat. This time, Tharoor faces Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, both heavyweight contenders from their respective parties. However, the question remains will Tharoor secure his fourth victory? In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Shashi Tharoor won Thiruvananthapuram by a margin of approximately 99,989 votes. He secured around 4,08,000 votes, defeating his closest rival, Kummanam Rajasekharan of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who received around 3,08,000 votes.

4. Bhupesh Baghel (Rajnandgaon)

Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel, who had aimed to lead the party to victory in last year’s Assembly polls but fell short, now faces a formidable challenge. Baghel has been nominated by the party to contest from the Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seat, a stronghold of the BJP for over three decades and considered the territory of its former three-time CM, Raman Singh. Rajnandgaon has historically been a bastion of the BJP, having been won by them all but once since the formation of the state in 2000. Although Bhagel did not contest in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, his candidacy in this BJP stronghold raises curiosity as to whether he can secure a victory for the Congress in an area long dominated by the opposition.

5.Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (Jodhpur)

Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who is a sitting MP from the Jodhpur Lok Sabha seat, is looking to score a hat-trick. Aiming to prevent him from doing so, Congress has fielded Karan Singh Uchiyarda.In both the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat secured victory in Jodhpur for two consecutive terms, triumphing over Chandresh Kumari of the Congress, which marked a significant shift as the BJP successfully penetrated a seat traditionally held by the Congress.In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Jodhpur Lok Sabha constituency. He secured around 8,30,000 votes, defeating Vaibhav Gehlot of the Indian National Congress party, who received approximately 6,05,000 votes. Therefore, Shekhawat won by a margin of roughly 2,25,000 votes.