The country is all set for the second round of elections on April 18 in the ongoing seven-phase Lok Sabha polls that will elect 543 members to the lower house of Parliament. Going to polls in the second phase will be 95 seats in 12 states and one Union Territory. Here is a look at some of the big names contesting in phase two of Lok Sabha elections.
'The Congress party hated him because he had not gone to jail, he was not lathi charged, he had not gone on hunger strike.' 'They felt he had lived in London all his life and then he came to India and became an MP and a minister.'
Noor, niece of Congress stalwart A B A Ghani Khan Choudhury, have quite often been taking stands which were not in line with that of the party's state leadership.
The Election Commission sent a notice to Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the BJP's Mumbai chief. This is probably because a leading newspaper highlighted his utterances on its front page.
The Karnataka BJP core committee had proposed only Tejaswini's name for the Lok Sabha seat, but Tejaswi Surya emerged the dark horse.
Given that Bebe grew up in a orphanage and recalls playing youth football matches without eating, it is easy to see why he identifies with the proud yet humble club.
Meanwhile, the Congress said that that it is ready to go it alone in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha election.
Two state ministers have also come out in the open to demand a detailed assessment by the top leadership.
Police did not rule out the possibility of it being a 'political murder'.
The National Democratic Alliance, led by strong man Narendra Modi secured a whopping 352 of 542 seats, making it evident that his message of muscular nationalism, security and Hindu pride had worked wonders.
BJP won 18 of the seats while the TMC won 22 of the seats.
The central government has announced national mourning on Monday.
Priyanka Gandhi is likely to lead the Congress campaign in Amethi and Rae Bareli, the pocket-borough of the Nehru-Gandhi family, in the coming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
Deve Gowda indicated on Sunday that they were ready to compromise.
The Congress vice president has eyes on the larger objective of his partnership with Akhilesh, which may provide the template against the BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Nirahua, a Bhojpuri star and the BJP's candidate, is drawing huge crowds in his road shows and meetings after he entered the poll fray against Yadav, but voters with caste and local equations appear favourable for the senior Yadav.
Rediff.com presents some amazing images of the battle for Sirte.
Whether it is in medicine, hospitals or the testosterone-dominated world of tractors, a surprising number of women have inherited the top job down south. Here is the first in a series on women who have taken charge of a traditionally male-dominated world.
With this, the Congress has lost its last foothold in the north-east.
The home ministry's notice to Gandhi was sent in response to a complaint filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy.
In 2014, young Muslims became Owaisi fans. But five years of BJP rule and a weakening Opposition have drawn older Muslims too towards the AIMIM chief. Not enough, though.
'Mr Modi may have the aura of an irresistible conquistador now, but he is human. He isn't an 'avatar,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
Gandhi, who is on a whirlwind two-day tour of Kerala as part of Lok Sabha poll campaign and is contesting from Wayanad besides his family bastion Amethi, took time off his hectic schedule to pay obeisance at the famed Thirunelli temple near the stream.
Both Hassan and Mandya, where the BJP's strength is negligible, are currently held by JD-S, which Congress too is eyeing this time.
He is likely to have the support of grand alliance partners Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awami Morcha.
Somaiya, an old BJP hand and one of its leading speakers on economic issues in Parliament, had been a trenchant critic of the Sena.
For Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who continues the Gandhi family legacy of active politics that began several generations ago, the formal entry into politics was two decades in the making.
'During every election, the Gandhis come and inaugurate some projects and then leave without completing it.'
'The lush green of Kashmir was exactly like the postcards and posters I had seen growing up.'
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav lashed out at his one-time ally, the Congress, and said that in the state the BJP is nowhere.
Akhilesh Yadav confirmed in a television interview that the press conference is on the alliance in Uttar Pradesh, while parrying questions on the Congress.
She began her career as an aspiring model in the late 1990s. A few decades later, she is one of India's best known politicians.
He was a leader who enjoyed acceptance from all sections of the BJP and beyond.
'But in 2024, the people of India will throw him out of power as the contradictions in him will be apparent.'
'The Babri Masjid wasn't just a mosque, it was a test of our secularism,' says Jyoti Punwani.
The Congress party's traditional bastion among the tea workers in Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Tezpur Lok Sabha constituencies holds the key to the party's fortunes in the first phase polling on April 7 in Assam. The BJP has been trying hard to make inroads here.
However, Bajpai ruled out any possibility of an epic battle in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections between Sonia Gandhi and Arun Jaitley.
Storming the Janata Dal Secular bastion, the ruling Congress in Karnataka on Saturday won the Mandya and Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha seats with impressive margins.
'When the Congress tied up with Chandrababu Naidu, they helped trigger Telangana pride.'
But the question before the leadership will be whether to retain the BJP alliance or dump it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
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