E-Paper
118 of 162 candidates in Phase 5 sans LS experience: Data
49 constituencies in India, including key battlegrounds, to vote in fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections. 162 candidates, 118 newcomers. Focus on UP, Bihar, Bengal.
New Delhi: The fifth phase of India’s ongoing Lok Sabha elections on Monday will see 49 constituencies, including several key battlegrounds, heading to polls in Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Ladakh, Kashmir, and Odisha.
Contesting for these 49 seats are 162 candidates from major political parties, according to data compiled by PRS Legislative Research, which shows that a large number of these --- 118 – are contestants with no prior experience as a member of Lok Sabha.
The analysis is drawn from the nonprofit’s candidate profiles, for which it has picked contestants from major parties – a classification, to be sure, not explicitly defined but one that carries the names of most prominent contenders. In total, there are 695 candidates in the fray for the May 20 round of polling, the election commission said on May 8.
Out of the 162 candidates, 114 have no experience as an MP in either house. The broader INDIA alliance has 42 candidates with no prior experience as an MP, with all 10 Samajwadi Party candidates being new to central politics.
The BJP has 40 candidates, with 17 vying to become Lok Sabha members for the first time, while its broader National Democratic Alliance has 22 such contenders.
In the case of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), only one of the 46 candidates has prior parliamentary experience.
“Statistically, about 60% of MPs enter the parliament for the first time,” said Rahul Verma of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR). “However, some constituencies in phase five are of significant importance, especially in Uttar Pradesh. With the campaign heat shifting north of the Vindhyas, as most of the southern states have already polled, the focus will primarily be on UP, Bihar, and Bengal.”
In the 13 seats going to polls in Maharashtra in this round, 33 out of 42 candidates from the major parties lack Lok Sabha experience. Key races include those in Kalyan, Mumbai North, Mumbai North Central, and Mumbai South.
In Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi, Congress’s Kishori Lal Sharma, considered close to the Nehru-Gandhi family for which the Lok Sabha seat has been regarded as a stronghold, has not been in parliament before. Sharma will take on BJP incumbent Smriti Irani, who delivered the shock victory over Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 elections.
In Odisha, fresh faces dominate the contests in Aska, Bargarh, and Bolangir, with only a few seasoned campaigners in the mix.
West Bengal’s Hooghly and Howrah constituencies see a mix of newcomers and experienced candidates vying for supremacy.
PRS Legislative is yet to put up candidate profiles for the seventh and the last phase. Its nomination process culminated on May 17. A comparison of the experience of contenders in the May 20 round of polls will be possible once the data is disclosed.
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