Campaigning ends for fifth phase of Lok Sabha poll
The HinduCampaigning for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election ended on May 18. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Congress, claiming that the UPA government had wanted to allocate 15% of the budget to Muslims, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge widened the gamut of poll guarantees of his party when he promised 10 kg of free grains to the poor instead of the five kg being given at present. Of the 49 seats going to the polls on May 20, the BJP had won 32 in 2019, while the Congress got only Rae Bareli. Star candidates Some of the star candidates include the Congress’ Rahul Gandhi from Rae Bareli, the BJP’s Smrti Irani from Amethi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh from Lucknow, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal from Mumbai-North, Omar Abdullah from Baramulla and the RJD’s Rohini Acharya from Saran in Bihar. Uttar Pradesh, which sends the largest number of MPs to Parliament, will see 14 seats voting in the fifth phase with the fate of five Union Ministers at stake.