Explainer: Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand—two states at two opposite ends that vote entirely on Friday in Phase 1

States where elections will be over in first phase itself are Tamil Nadu (39 seats), Uttarakhand (5), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Manipur (2), Meghalaya (2), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1), Sikkim (1)

As many as 102 constituencies in 21 states and Union Territories will vote on Friday—the first of seven phases that will culminate on June 1. Representative image/File photo

Tribune Web Desk

Vibha Sharma

Chandigarh, April 17

With campaigning for the first phase ending on Wednesday, the day marked an important landmark in the seven-phase Lok Sabha election that begin on April 19. As many as 102 constituencies in 21 states and Union Territories will vote on Friday—the first of seven phases that will culminate on June 1.

States polling on April 19 are Arunachal Pradesh (2 Lok Sabha seats); Assam (5); Bihar (4); Chhattisgarh (1); Madhya Pradesh (6); Maharashtra (5); Manipur (2); Meghalaya (2); Mizoram (1); Nagaland (1); Rajasthan (12); Sikkim (1); Tamil Nadu (39); Tripura (1); Uttar Pradesh (8); Uttarakhand (5); and West Bengal (3); along with Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1); Jammu and Kashmir (1); Lakshadweep (1); and Puducherry (1).

States where elections will be over in the first phase itself are Tamil Nadu (39 Lok Sabha seats), Uttarakhand (5), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Manipur (2), Meghalaya (2), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1), Sikkim (1) along with Lakshadweep, Puducherry and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Tamil Nadu

In fact, Tamil Nadu will be the first major state to complete polling in the first phase itself.

In terms of Lok Sabha seats, Tamil Nadu ranks fifth after Uttar Pradesh (80 Lok Sabha seats), Maharashtra (48), West Bengal (42) and Bihar (40).

The 39 Lok Sabha seats there include seven reserved constituencies.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the alliance led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had won 38 of the 39 seats.

In 2024, the battle for Tamil Nadu can be summarised as the DMK’s bid to retain 38 seats it won in 2019, former NDA ally and rival All India Anna Dravidian Progressive Federation (AIADMK) struggle to remain relevant in absence of charismatic leader J Jayalaithaa and the BJP’s desire to dislodge traditional Dravidian parties controlling the state’s politics for decades.

The state is an important part of the saffron party’s “Mission 50” south of the Vindhyas.

Constituencies to watch out include Thoothukudi where DMK’s sitting MP Kanimozhi is contesting against AIADMK’s R Sivasami Velumani and SDR Vijayaseelan of the Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar), which is a part of the BJP-led NDA.

Other interesting seats are the Nilgiris, the bastion of senior DMK’s A Raja who is pitted against BJP’s Murugan; Coimbatore where state BJP president K Annamalai is taking on DMK leader Ganapathy P Rajkumar and AIADMK’s Singai Ramachandran; Sriperumbudur where senior DMK leader TR Baalu is contesting against AIADMK’s G Premkumar of AIADMK and VN Venugopal of TMC and all the three constituencies in Chennai—Chennai South, Chennai North, and Chennai Central.

Uttarakhand

The direct fight between the BJP and the Congress on the five constituencies of the hill state are being watched keenly by observers.

Banking on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) the BJP is aiming for a hat-trick in all the five constituencies while for the Congress it is almost a do or die battle.

BJP leaders believe that UCC will help it in the state famous for ‘Char Dham Yatra’ and temples, however, voters are said to be upset over Centre’s Agnipath scheme and the mishandling of land subsidence in Joshimath.

Uttarakhand is home to a large number of former and serving defence personnel who play a crucial role in politics there. Meanwhile, Sikh and Muslim farmers in Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar constituency are also said to be upset over handling of farmers’ protest and the Haldwani violence.

Uttrakhand delivered back-to-back wins to the BJP in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The question is can Congress, the largest opposition party there, pose a credible challenge to the saffron party.

According to reports, senior Congress leaders have mostly been absent from the election scene. According to reports Congress’ former CM Harish Rawat is only campaigning for his son Virendra Singh Rawat, who is pitted against BJP’s Trivendra Rawat (also a former CM) in Haridwar.

Its five seats include Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar and Almora in Kumaon and Haridwar, Tehri Garhwal, and Garhwal (Pauri) in the Garhwal region.

Also an interesting face to watch out for is BJP's national media chief Anil Baluni in Garhwal (Pauri)—the largest constituency of the state.

Almora is a fight between BJP’s Ajay Tamta and Congress’ Pradeep Tamta while Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt is defending his Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar constituency against Congress’ Prakash Joshi.

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