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Jhansi, the stronghold of BJP which the party has been winning since 2014, will witness a three-way poll battle among BJP's Anurag Sharma, who is pitted against Congress' Pradeep Jain Aditya, and Bahujan Samaj Party's Ravi Prakash.
Jhansi will go to the polls in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 20. As one of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, Jhansi consists of five Legislative Assembly segments--Babina, Jhansi Nagar, Mauranipur, Lalitpur, and Mehroni. In 2014, BJP's Uma Bharti secured 575,889 votes (43.6 per cent) while SP's Dr Chandrapal Singh Yadav came second with 385,422 votes (29.2 per cent). BSP's Anuradha Sharma garnered 213,792 votes (16.2 per cent) while Congress' Pradeep Jain 'Aditya' came fourth with 84,089 votes (6.4 per cent). In 2019, Anurag Sharma of BJP secured victory in the seat by securing 809,272 votes (58.6 per cent). SP's Shyam Sundar Singh secured the second spot with 443,589 votes (3.1 per cent) while Shivsharan of Congress garnered 86,139 votes (6.2 per cent). Interestingly, Pradeep Jain Aditya had secured victory in the seat in 2009 and is seeking to emerge victorious again after 15 years. At present, Anurag Sharma is a member of Parliament's Standing Committee on Science, Technology, Environment and Forests, Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare and Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. Anurag Sharma holds a special place in the field of business leadership and is currently the Chairman of the AYUSH Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), India's largest trade association. Given his contribution to the medical field, Sharma has also been appointed as a member of the Medical Plant Board established under the Parliamentary Act and advisor to the Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog) and Gujarat Ayurved University. Several BJP leaders like UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Home Minister have held roadshows in Jhansi for their candidate and urged the people to vote for Anurag Sharma. On the other hand, Pradeep Jain Aditya, former Union Minister, former MP Jhansi-Lalitpur, former MLA (Jhansi), had spoken with ANI and said, "It was people's wish that I should serve them. And the party had chosen a small worker like me... They have shown trust in me... I have always lived up to the expectations of the people." Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on May 14 had addressed a public rally in Jhansi where he targeted the Yogi Adityanath and Central government and while addressing the farmers and youth of Jhansi, Yadav had said, "The farmers and youth of Jhansi must know that in the 10 years of governance, the farmers were looted and the money of farmers reached the pockets of BJP... Inflation surged, diesel prices doubled, and electricity prices soared." The former UP CM also claimed that the BJP is falling. He said, "Four phases of elections are over and BJP's graph is falling. The people of Jhansi are preparing for BJP's 'vidai ki jhanki'." Interestingly, the BSP had earlier fielded Ravi Prakash from Amethi constituency but then replaced him with Nanhe Singh Chauhan. Later, the party fielded Prakash from the Jhansi Lok Sabha seat. Notably, SP and Congress are allies in the opposition INDIA bloc formed to take on the BJP in the ongoing 2024 general elections. In the 2019 polls, the BJP emerged triumphant, securing 62 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, while two seats were clinched by its ally Apna Dal (S). Mayawati's BSP managed to secure 10 seats, while Akhilesh Yadav's SP garnered five and the Congress Party secured only one seat. In the 2014 elections, the BJP secured 71 out of 80 seats. SP secured five seats while Congress garnered only two seats. (ANI)
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