Lok Sabha 2024 Elections: Top 10 Battles In Phase 1 That Would Grab Eyeballs

New Delhi: The first phase of seven-phased Lok Sabha election kicked off Friday with polling in 102 seats spread across 21 states and Union territories. Key candidates in the fray in this phase include Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Sarbanada Sonowal and Bhupendra Yadav, Gaurav Gogoi of Congress, DMK's Kanimozhi and K Annamalai of BJP.

Here are the Top 10 contests in phase 1:
Bikaner, Rajasthan
Bikaner seat in Rajasthan is among the seats that would grab eyeballs today. Once a Congress stronghold, the seat has been with the BJP since 2004. The seat will witness sitting MP and BJP leader Arjun Ram Meghwal contest against Congress's Govind Ram Meghwal for the fourth time. This is a fight where the Congress is hoping for a win this time. The BJP MP has won the seat four times in a row since 2009. Arjun Ram Meghwal was part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet also, while the Congress candidate is a former state minister.

Chennai Central, Tamil Nadu
Chennai Central is one of 39 constituencies in Tamil Nadu where polling is taking place today. A DMK stronghold, the seat is currently represented by Dayanidhi Maran in the parliament. The former union minister has been challenged by BJP's Vinoj P. Selvam.

ALSO READ: Live Updates On Chennai Phase 1 Voting

Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh
A stronghold of the Kamal Nath's family for 44 years, Chhhindwara will witness the Congress veteran's son, Nakul, defending his father's seat against BJP's Vivek Bunty Sahu. The BJP, keen to take over Chhindwara, had made several heavy weights to campaign for its candidate.

Dibrugarh, Assam
Dibrugarh will witness a high-profile battle between former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Asom Jatiya Parishad's Lurinjyoti Gogoi, who is INDIA bloc's candidate for the seat. The two have been challeneged by AAP candidate Manoj Dhanowar, who is likely to eat into the votes of the AJP candidate.

Jamui, Bihar
Jamui in Bihar is expected to see a straight fight between RJD's Archana Ravidass and NDA's Arun Bharti, the brother-in-law of Lok Janshakti Party chief Chirag Paswan, who is the Sitting MP from the constituency.

Jorhat, Assam
Assam's Jorhat will witness three-time Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's son Gaurav Gogoi attempting to snatch back this erstwhile Congress bastion from the BJP. The constituency was represented by Tarun Gogoi in the 1970s. The seat was with Congress between 1991 to 2014, till it was snatched back by the BJP in 2014. The BJP has fielded sitting MP Topon Kumar Gogoi from the seat. A two-time MP from Kaliabor, Topen Gogoi had to shift to Jorhat after delimitation.

Nagaur, Rajasthan

Nagaur in Rajasthan will is going to be the other closely-watched contest in the desert state. Both candidates have switched sides over the last years. Jyoti Mirdha, who won the seat for the Congress in 2009, is now BJP's candidate for the seat. She is up against Rashtriya Loktantrik Party chief and sitting MP Hanuman Beniwal, who is now part of the INDIA bloc.

Nagpur, Maharashtra
Maharashtra's Nagpur, under which has the headquarters of the BJP's ideological mentor, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is located, will witness BJP heavyweight Nitin Gadkari against Vikas Thakre, a former Mayor of the city and sitting MLA of Nagpur West. Nagpur was a Congress bastion till 2014 when Gadkari snatched the seat, defeating Congress's seven-time MP Vilas Muttemwar by a margin of nearly 3 lakh votes.

Tura, Meghalaya
Tura in Meghalaya will witness a three-corner contest between the ruling National People's Party, a BJP ally, and the Congress. Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, which is officially part of the INDIA bloc, has also fielded a candidate, making it a three-cornered battle. Meghalaya accounts for two of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the northeast.

Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur is expected to witness a tough fight with Congress's Choudhury Lal Singh challenging two-time winner and Union minister Jitendra Singh. Ghulam Nabi Azad's DPAP (Democratic Progressive Azad Party) is also in the fray and has fielded former J&K Minister GM Saroori.