Andhra Pradesh:
CONSTITUENCY: TIRUPATI (SC)
Incumbent MP: Dr M Gurumoorthy (YSRCP)
Up Against: Velagapalli Varaprasad Rao (BJP)
The constituency hosting the temple town was allotted to BJP under its alliance with Telugu Desam Party and Jana Sena. A former bureaucrat, Rao is the Tirupati MLA and joined BJP as recently as March 24, triggering murmurs of dissent. Analysts like Telakapalli Ravi don’t expect a marked improvement in BJP’s performance in AP (its vote share was less than NOTA’s in 2019). Still, Rao did win this seat in 2014—on a YSRCP ticket.
Telangana
CONSTITUENCY: ADILABAD (ST)
Incumbent MP: Soyam Bapu Rao (BJP)
In the Fray: Godam Nagesh (BJP), Athram Sakku (BRS), Athram Suguna (INC)
In Adilabad, one of the four seats it won in 2019, BJP denied the ticket to its incumbent and gave it instead to ex-BRS MP Godam Nagesh, due to infighting. BJP hopes to cash in on the inroads it has made in tribal areas in Adilabad—it won four seats in Adilabad in the 2023 assembly polls, points out Ajay Gudavarthy, associate professor, JNU.CONSTITUENCY: KARIMNAGAR
Incumbent MP: Bandi Sanjay Kumar (BJP)
Up Against: Boinapally Vinod Kumar (BRS), INC yet to announce.
In 2019, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, former state BJP president, vocal about his strong Hindutva views, won the Karimnagar constituency, defeating Vinod Kumar by a margin of 90,000 votes. However, Bandi Sanjay lost the assembly poll in 2023, repeating the results of the 2018 and 2014 assembly polls and the 2014 parliamentary election. BJP can expect a tough contest in the seat.
CONSTITUENCY: NIZAMABAD
Incumbent MP: Arvind Dharmapuri (BJP)
Up Against: Bajireddy Govardhan (BRS), Tatiparthi Jeevan Reddy(INC)
Nizamabad delivered a shock defeat to former CM KCR’s daughter, K Kavitha, at the hands of first-timer Arvind Dharmapuri in 2019. The region’s turmeric farmers, agitating for better prices and a turmeric board, played a key role then, with over 170 of them contesting in the polls. The PM announced the setting up of the board last year and the party won two of seven assembly seats in the constituency.
CONSTITUENCY: SECUNDERABAD
Incumbent MP: G Kishan Reddy (BJP)
Up Against: T Padma Rao (BRS), Danam Nagender (INC)
A seat held by BJP for two consecutive terms, the urban constituency will see a Union minister—Reddy— facing off against two sitting MLAs. While Padma Rao is a four-time MLA from Secunderabad, Nagender, an MLA from one of Secunderabad’s assembly seats, switched from BRS to Congress in March.
CONSTITUENCY: ZAHIRABAD
Incumbent MP: BB Patil (Defected from BRS to BJP)
Up Against: Gali Anil Kumar (BRS), Suresh Kumar Shetkar (INC)
Sitting MP BB Patil, an industrialist, was part of the exodus from KCR’s BRS to BJP in March and got the ticket to contest a day after. In 2019, Patil won the constituency, which lies near the border with Maharashtra, but the margin was only 6,000-odd votes. Incidentally, BRS candidate Kumar switched from INC, ahead of the assembly polls.
CONSTITUENCY: MALKAJGIRI
Incumbent MP: Revanth Reddy (INC)
In the Fray: Eatala Rajender (BJP), Shambhipur Raju (BRS), Patnam Suneetha Mahender Reddy (INC)
A prestigious constituency, Malkajgiri was held by Revanth Reddy, current CM, in 2019. The contest will be no less intense now, with former BRS minister Eatala Rajender snagging the ticket from BJP and the PM holding a roadshow there. The CM will be closely involved in this fight in which Patnam Suneetha Reddy, ex-BRS, will represent INC.
TAMIL NADU
CONSTITUENCY: COIMBATORE
Incumbent MP: P Ramaswamy Natarajan (CPM)
In the Fray: K Annamalai (BJP), Ganapathi B Rajkumar (DMK), Singai Ramachandran (AIADMK)
The industrial hub will see a highoctane contest, thanks to the candidature of BJP’s provocative state president from there. For the party, this is a priority seat—it won here in 1998 and 1999 in the wake of serial bomb blasts in the city, a point Modi emphasised in his recent roadshow.
CONSTITUENCY: KANNIYAKUMARI
Incumbent MP: Vijay Vasanth (INC)
Up Against: Pon Radhakrishnan (BJP), Nazareth Pasilian (AIADMK)
The state’s southernmost constituency was the only one where the lotus bloomed back in 2014, when it elected BJP veteran Radhakrishnan. However, the former Union minister lost the seat to Congress’s H Vasanthakumar in 2019. In the 2021 by-election held after the death of Vasanthakumar, his son Vijay Vasanth beat Radhakrishnan by over 1 lakh votes. The two will be facing off again.
CONSTITUENCY: SOUTH CHENNAI
Incumbent MP: Thamizhachi Thangapandian (DMK)
Up Against: Tamilisai Soundararajan (BJP), J Jayavardhan (AIADMK)
The former BJP state president quit her gubernatorial assignment in Telangana to jump into the poll fray in the prestigious constituency. Making it a rare contest between two female candidates, she will take on incumbent Thamizhachi Thangapadian of DMK, which has won the seat five times. Making it a three-cornered fight will be Jayavardhan, who won in 2014.
CONSTITUENCY: TIRUNELVELI
Incumbent MP: S Gnanathiraviam (DMK)
In the Fray: Nainan Nagenthiran (BJP), M Jansi Rani (AIADMK), Robert Bruce (INC)
Nagenthiran, sitting MLA from Tirunelveli and former AIADMK legislator, began his campaign even before his candidature was announced by BJP. The southern TN constituency, dominated by the Nadar community, was once an AIADMK stronghold but no more. Incensed by Bruce’s candidature, a former Congress MP had filed nomination as party candidate, but it was rejected.
PUDUCHERRY
Incumbent MP: V Vaithilingam (INC)
Up Against: A Namassivayam (BJP), G Thamizhvendhan (AIADMK)
The Union territory is expected to see a straight fight between BJP and Congress, where the incumbent will take on home minister Namassivayam, who has family links with Chief Minister N Rangasamy. Namassivayam moved from Congress to BJP in 2021, when the Congress government was toppled.
Kerala
CONSTITUENCY: PATHANAMTHITTA
Incumbent MP: Anto Antony (UDF)
Up Against: Thomas Isaac (LDF), Anil Antony (BJP)
Congress leader AK Antony’s son, Anil, is contesting as a BJP candidate and hopes to woo the minority Christian votes as well as BJP’s traditional voters in the seat which is home to the Sabarimala temple. But the contest against three-time MLA Anto and former finance minister Isaac will not be easy. State BJP head K Surendran, however, told ET he is “100% sure” the party would win this and another nine seats in Kerala.
CONSTITUENCY: THRISSUR
Incumbent MP: TN Prathapan (UDF)
In the Fray: VS Sunil Kumar (LDF), K Muraleedharan (UDF), Suresh Gopi (BJP)
This will be Malayalam actor Gopi’s third attempt in the temple town after 2019 and 2021 (assembly). The PM has added fire power, visiting the constituency twice in January and attending the wedding of Gopi’s daughter. Regional media polls suggest it will be a close contest among the three.
CONSTITUENCY: PALAKKAD
Incumbent MP: VK Sreekandan (UDF)
Up Against: A Vijayaraghavan (LDF), C Krishnakumar (BJP)
Palakkad, a Left stronghold for several years, was wrested by Congress-led United Democratic Front in 2019 as part of the “Rahul Gandhi wave”. BJP has been gradually increasing its vote share. It managed to win the Palakkad municipality twice in the local body elections, a first in Kerala for the party and a factor Krishnakumar hopes to cash in on.
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