New Delhi: Campaigning ended on April 17 evening for 102 Lok Sabha seats across 21 states and Union territories which will go to polls in the first phase on April 19 with top leaders of the BJP-led NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc making a last-gasp effort to woo voters.
Leading the charge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took whirlwind tours of various constituencies in the past few days, addressing rallies and holding roadshows, and asserting that he went to people with hope in 2014, trust in 2019 and guarantee in 2024. Many times he said there is “Modi’s guarantee across the country and I am giving the guarantee of fulfilling all these guarantees”.
Home Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and several of their cabinet colleagues, leaders of the Congress such as Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, and other parties also canvassed for their candidates. The BJP has come out all guns blazing at the INDIA bloc over corruption, dynasty politics, and insulting the Constitution and Hinduism.
The Opposition leaders, in turn, have attacked the government over electoral bonds, alleged misuse of agencies, inflation and unemployment among other issues. The BJP in its manifesto prioritized development and welfare while shunning populist measures and contentious issues like the NRC.
Named “Modi ki Guarantee”, the manifesto largely built on the government’s existing welfare schemes targeted at different sections of society, while reiterating the BJP’s commitment to roll out one-nation-one-election and Uniform Civil Code, two issues mentioned in its 2019 manifesto too.
In 2019, the UPA won 45 of these 102 seats and the NDA 41. Six of these seats have been redrawn as part of the delimitation exercise. Polling will be held in all seats of Tamil Nadu (39), Uttarakhand (5), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Meghalaya (2), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1), Puducherry (1), Sikkim (1) and Lakshadweep (1).
