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India’s Goods Exports up Amid Uncertainties

Gold imports more than tripled in April to $3.11 billion from $1.01 billion in the same month last year….reports Asian Lite News

India’s goods exports rose 1.07 per cent to hit almost $35 billion in April despite the uncertainties in the global market due to the economic slowdown and geopolitical tensions, according to figures released by the Union Commerce Ministry on Wednesday.

However, imports jumped by as much as 10.25 per cent during the month to $54.1 billion, largely due to an increase in gold purchases

As a result, the merchandise trade deficit for the month was 32.3 per cent higher than a year ago, at $19.1 billion.

Gold imports more than tripled in April to $3.11 billion from $1.01 billion in the same month last year. Gold imports stood at $1.53 billion in March 2024.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said he hoped the rise in merchandise exports in the first month of the 2024-25 financial year is a good omen for the coming months.

The sectors that did well on the export front include electronics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and petroleum products.

The Ministry has raised its estimate for total exports in 2023-24 to $778.2 billion from $776.7 billion estimated last month, which is 0.42 per cent increase over the record $776.4 billion exports in 2022-23 as services exports are expected to grow at a robust pace.

The President of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), Ashwani Kumar, said that starting the new financial year 2024-25 with a growth of over 1 per cent is a good sign even during such challenging times.

This shows the resilience of the exports sector. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war coupled with various geo-political tensions such as the Red Sea crisis and the Israel-Hamas conflict has also made the international trade scenario much tougher for Indian exporters, he said.

Kumar also said the tariff war between the US and China may come as an opportunity for India’s export sector.

ICRA chief economist Aditi Nayar said, “Overall, nearly half of the widening in the aggregate merchandise trade deficit between April 2023 and April 2024 was on account of the surge in the value of gold imports amid the rise in global prices.

“As of now, the current account deficit for FY2025 appears likely to print at a modest 1.2 per cent of GDP.”

Boom in Electronics Exports

India’s electronic goods exports increased by 25.8 per cent in the month of April (Year-on-Year), from $2.11 billion in April 2023 to $2.65 billion this year, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Wednesday.

Overall, India’s total exports (merchandise and services combined) in April is estimated to be $64.56 billion, clocking a growth of 6.88 per cent over April last year.

The key drivers of merchandise exports growth included electronic goods, organic and inorganic chemicals, petroleum products and drugs and pharmaceuticals, according to the ministry.

Led by mobile phones, the export of electronics goods has seen a meteoric rise in the last 10 years.

Mobile phone exports from India were Rs 1,556 crore in 2014-15.

According to industry data, cumulative exports of mobile phones during the 2014-2024 period reached around Rs 3,22,048 crore.

The last fiscal year (FY24) alone is estimated to see mobile phone exports at over Rs 1,20,000 crore.

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Business Economy India News

Stupa Sports Analytics Eyes Global Expansion

The new funds will be allocated towards attracting top talent in AI/ML and engineering to develop cutting-edge solutions, ensuring our leadership in the rapidly expanding sports-tech sector….reports Asian Lite News

Sports tech company Stupa Sports Analytics on Wednesday said that it secured Rs 28 crore in a Pre-Series A funding round to fuel its talent acquisition, global expansion, and product enhancement initiatives.

The round was led by venture capital firms Centre Court Capital and PeerCapital.

“I am grateful for the enthusiastic support and confidence shown by Centre Court Capital and PeerCapital. Their backing propels us closer towards our vision of transforming sports through innovative technology,” Megha Gambhir, co-founder and CEO of Stupa Sports Analytics, said in a statement.

“With our innovative solutions already being leveraged by over 15 international federations, we are proud flag-bearers of ‘Make in India’ sports tech taking centre stage globally,” she added.

The sports tech firm offers a comprehensive suite of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven solutions for advanced analytics of player performance data, broadcasting capabilities and sports digitisation tools for athletes, sports federations, broadcasters and fan communities worldwide.

According to the company, the latest funds will be used to attract top AI/ML and engineering talent to build advanced solutions that stay ahead of the curve in the rapidly growing sports-tech industry.

The fund will also power the company’s ambitions to expand globally into markets like the US, the UK, Australia, and the Middle East while deepening its existing presence in regions like Europe and Asia.

“Having closely monitored Megha and Deepak’s journey over the past two years, we are highly impressed by their unwavering dedication to redefining the future of racquet sports,” said Mustafa Ghouse, General Partner at Centre Court Capital.

With the new funding, Stupa plans to improve its product offerings to cater to the expanded sports disciplines portfolio, which includes table tennis, badminton, and upcoming sports like pickleball and padel, along with other multi-sport capabilities.

Before this funding round, the company had raised Rs 7.5 crore in seed and pre-seed funding.

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Indian Women Embrace Mobile Internet

Chennai: Chennai: Students check their results to Tamil Nadu Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) Class XII examinations on their mobile phones, in Chennai on May 16, 2018. (Photo: IANS)

In 2023, an additional 120 million women connected to the internet via mobile globally….reports Asian Lite News

Women’s internet adoption on mobile phones has reached 37 per cent in India, while adoption among men remains stable, narrowing the gender gap from 40 per cent to 30 per cent, a global report showed on Wednesday.

In 2023, an additional 120 million women connected to the internet via mobile globally.

More women in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) are using mobile internet than ever before, 1.5 billion (66 per cent) in total, according to the report by the GSMA, a global organisation that represents mobile network operators worldwide.

However, an alarming 785 million women remain unconnected, with approximately 60 per cent in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, said the annual ‘Mobile Gender Gap Report 2024’ by the GSMA.

Claire Sibthorpe, Head of Digital Inclusion at the GSMA, said that the reduction in the mobile internet gender gap is promising but “sustaining momentum is fragile”.

“We are collaborating with the industry, policymakers and other relevant partners to address key barriers including affordability, awareness and digital skills,” Sibthorpe added.

The GSMA estimates that closing the gender gap in mobile ownership and usage across LMICs could deliver an additional $230 billion in revenue to the mobile industry over an eight-year period.

The gender gap in mobile internet adoption across LMICs has narrowed for the first time since 2020, driven by women adopting it at a faster rate than men, particularly in South Asia.

Women are now 15 per cent less likely than men to use mobile internet across LMICs, the findings showed.

Across LMICs, there are now 1.4 billion women who own a smartphone, meaning that 60 per cent of women now own a smartphone device.

However, there are still 40 per cent of women in these countries, totalling 940 million, who do not own a smartphone.

“Mobile remains the primary — and often only — way people in LMICs access the internet, accounting for 84 per cent of broadband connections in 2023,” the report noted.

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INDIA 2024 India News Politics

CJI champions tech integration at J20 Summit

The J20 Summit brings together the heads of supreme courts or constitutional courts from G20 member states…reports Asian Lite News

Chief Justice DY Chandrachud revealed on Wednesday that the Supreme Court has conducted over 7,50,000 cases through video-conferencing, with more than 1,50,000 cases filed online. He emphasised the transformative impact of technology on the legal system, stating that it has reshaped the dynamic between law enforcement agencies, including the judiciary.

Speaking at the J20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro on ‘Digital transformation and the use of technology to enhance judicial efficiency’, the CJI highlighted India’s progress in this regard. He noted that virtual hearings have expanded access to the Supreme Court, democratizing the legal process.

The J20 Summit brings together the heads of supreme courts or constitutional courts from G20 member states, organized by the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court during Brazil’s Presidency of G20 this year.

Addressing a session, CJI Chandrachud said, “Our courts have come to be reimagined not as imposing ’empires’, but as democratic spaces of discourse. COVID-19 pushed the frontiers of our court systems, which were compelled to change overnight. Courts became more than just opaque physical spaces.”

The J20 Summit, overseen and coordinated by Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court (STF), brings together presidents from the Supreme and Constitutional Courts of G20 member countries, as well as representatives from the African Union and the European Union. This event facilitates discussions on critical topics including social justice, environmental sustainability, and the integration of technology for improved judicial efficiency.

Addressing the summit, CJI Chandrachud said, “We believe that sunshine is the best disinfectant, and that correct and accessible information is an antidote to disinformation. The Brazil Supreme Court’s Programme to Fight Disinformation targets disinformation by enabling access to the judgements and creating an ecosystem of stakeholders.”

CJI Chandrachud said, “In India, it is quite common for judges to engage with a bar and play the devil’s advocate to extract their best response. However, this is sometimes mistaken, as the opinion of the bench and misleading clips of the proceedings are circulated on the internet. Fortunately, we have a robust network of legal journalists who live-report the proceedings and help dispel disinformation. We are using SUVAS (Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software), a machine learning, AI-enabled translation tool for our judgements of 16 regional languages. Over 36,000 cases have thus far been translated. There is also live streaming and YouTube recordings of important constitutional cases that provide the complete context.”

Easy access to the judgements of the Supreme Court is provided through Digital SCR (Supreme Court Records), where over 30,000 old judgements are available for free, CJI highlighted.

CJI said that the digital divide, representational asymmetry between parties to the same dispute, and low-connectivity locations are some of the other bottlenecks that we must tackle. When we speak of judicial efficiency, we must look beyond the efficiency of the judge and think of a holistic judicial process. “Efficiency lies not only in outcomes but in these processes, which must ensure free and fair hearing. Substantive opportunity depends on “conversion factors” as Dr Amartya Sen says, “the degree to which a person can transform a resource into a functioning”. The potential of technology lies in how we convert it to minimise pre-existing inequalities. Inequalities are not neatly stacked compartments; they are rather a complex web of interwoven realities,” CJI said.

Technology is not a one-stop panacea for all social inequalities. Complicated issues such as AI profiling and consequent stigmatisation of individuals in large language models, algorithmic bias, misinformation, exposure of sensitive information, and opacity of black box models in AI must be tackled with sustained deliberative efforts and engagement about the dangers, he said.

CJI Chandrachud also pointed out that there are two crucial areas in which digitization and technology can help us create better justice delivery mechanisms. One is streamlining of the pre-decision processes and the other is the post-decision measures that improve access to and engagement with the decision itself. Courts across jurisdictions are using technologies ranging from basic organisation, to sophisticated artificial intelligence and machine learning tools, CJI said. (with inputs from ANI)

ALSO READ: 97% South Asia displacements linked to Manipur

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INDIA 2024 India News Politics

SC orders Purkayastha’s release, terms his arrest invalid

The apex court clarified that none of its observations will be treated as a comment on the merits of the case….reports Asian Lite News

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the release of NewsClick founder and editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha, who was arrested by the Delhi Police under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act over allegations that the media outlet received money to spread pro-China propaganda.

“There is no hesitation in the mind of the court to reach a conclusion that a copy of remand application in the purported exercise of communication of grounds of arrest in writing was not provided to the accused-appellant or his counsel before the passing of remand order dated October 4, 2023, which vitiates the arrest and the subsequent remand of the appellant. As a result, the appellant is entitled to a direction for release from custody…Accordingly, the arrest of the appellant followed by the remand order and the impugned order passed by the Delhi High Court are hereby declared to be invalid in the eyes of law and are quashed and set aside,” said a bench presided over by Justice B.R. Gavai.

“Though we would have been persuaded to direct the release of the appellant without requiring him to furnish his bonds of security since the charge sheet has been filed, we feel it appropriate to direct the release of the appellant from custody on furnishing the bonds to the satisfaction of the trial court,” added the bench, also comprising Justice Sandeep Mehta.

The apex court clarified that none of its observations will be treated as a comment on the merits of the case.

In October last year, Justice Gavai-led Bench issued notice to the Delhi Police on the special leave petition filed by Purkayastha against the decision of the Delhi High Court upholding the police remand.

The Delhi Police arrested Purkayastha and Human Resources head Amit Chakraborty on October 3, 2023, after multiple raids, including at the NewsClick office, and residences of editors and reporters of the news portal.

It was contended that the arrests violated the Supreme Court’s judgement in the Pankaj Bansal case, which had made it compulsory for the police to supply “written” grounds of arrest to the accused at the time of being arrested.

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97% South Asia displacements linked to Manipur

The conflict triggered the displacement of approximately 67,000 people, with most of the movements occurring within Manipur. …reports Asian Lite News

Conflict and violence led to 69,000 displacements in South Asia in 2023, with Manipur alone accounting for 67,000 of these, according to a report by the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). This marked the highest number of displacements due to conflict and violence in India since 2018.

The violence in Manipur was sparked on May 3, 2023, during a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ organized in the state’s hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The march led to violent clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities, resulting in over 200 deaths.

In March of the previous year, the Manipur High Court had recommended that the central government recognize the Meitei community as a Scheduled Tribe, a status that provides legal protection against marginalization. This recommendation faced opposition from other local tribes, including the Kukis, who feared it would exacerbate land disputes and social tensions.

The violence began in Churachandpur district and quickly spread to other districts, including Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Tengnoupal, and Kangpokpi. The conflict triggered the displacement of approximately 67,000 people, with most of the movements occurring within Manipur. However, a significant number of people also fled to neighboring states such as Mizoram, Nagaland, and Assam.

In response to the escalating violence, the central government imposed curfews, shut down internet services, and dispatched security forces to the region. Relief camps were established, and a peace committee was formed under the state governor’s chairmanship. However, disagreements about the committee’s composition hindered its effectiveness.

By the end of the year, all those displaced by the violence remained in internal displacement, according to the IDMC. The report also noted that around 5.3 million people across South Asia were internally displaced due to conflict and violence by the end of 2023, with 80% of these individuals in Afghanistan.

According to IDMC report, in 2023, India witnessed a significant decrease in internal displacements caused by natural disasters, totalling over half a million compared to the previous year’s 2.5 million.

The report shed light on various calamities that led to displacement, including floods, storms, earthquakes, and other environmental crises.

Deadly floods ravaged the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, while a glacial lake outburst flood in Sikkim resulted in the collapse of a hydroelectric dam, claiming over 100 lives and affecting more than 88,000 individuals.

In Delhi, identified as a “flood displacement hotspot,” heavy rains caused the Yamuna River to overflow on July 9, 2023, prompting the evacuation of residents from their homes.

The city recorded 27,000 displacements due to this event, with rainfall reaching a record 153 mm in just 24 hours, the highest since 1982.

Overall, South Asia reported approximately 3.7 million internal displacements, with disasters causing 3.6 million, marking the lowest figure since 2018.

The decline in displacements was attributed in part to the El Niño event, resulting in below-average monsoon rainfall and a weaker cyclone season.

Despite this, floods and storms persisted, albeit with reduced impact in certain areas.

India’s flood displacement figure of 352,000 was the lowest since 2008, with notable events affecting regions like Assam and Gujarat.

ALSO READ: EC summons Andhra Chief Secy, DGP over post-poll violence

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INDIA 2024 India News Politics

‘BJP can’t cross 200-mark without irregularities in EVM’

Congress leader, apparently miffed over Shah’s assertions, said that the latter should also get the Election Commission to officially declare these numbers….reports Asian Lite News

While the electoral machinery of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) remains in top gear to achieve the ‘400 paar’ target, Congress leader Rashid Alvi stirred a row on Wednesday as he claimed that the ruling party will find crossing past ‘200 mark’ difficult, without irregularities in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

“Forget 400, they can’t even cross the 200 mark. It can be possible only if they do any game with EVMs, in which they are masters,” said Alvi hinting that the ruling party would resort to tampering with voting machines for staying in power.

His controversial comment came in response to Home Minister Amit Shah’s assertions that the party had already won 270 seats by the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections and now the fight was for taking it to the 400 mark.

Congress leader, apparently miffed over Shah’s assertions, said that the latter should also get the Election Commission to officially declare these numbers.

He also accused the ruling party of ‘befooling and misleading’ the electorate for electoral gains.

Notably, Alvi is the not the only leader to forecast BJP’s ‘dwindling’ numbers in the 2024 elections, below the 200 mark.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, speaking to the Press along with SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday, said that the BJP won’t cross the 200 mark and added that it’s out of ‘nervousness’ that top BJP leaders are making tall claims about its Lok Sabha numbers.

“According to the numbers of the fourth phase, the INDIA bloc has taken the lead ahead and BJP-led NDA is trailing,” Kharge boasted before the newsmen.

He also added that the Congress party would bag enough numbers to stop the BJP’s march to power.

Recently, a review petition was filed in the Supreme Court against its recent verdict dismissing a batch of petitions seeking mandatory cross-verification of the votes cast in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips.

The review petition, filed under Article 137 of the Constitution, stated that there are “mistakes and errors apparent on the face of the impugned order” and the judgment is liable to be reviewed.

On April 26, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said that while it acknowledged the fundamental right of voters to ensure their vote is accurately recorded and counted, the same cannot be equated with the right to 100 per cent counting of VVPAT slips, or a right to physical access to the VVPAT slips, which the voter should be permitted to put in the drop box.

The apex court said that giving physical access to VVPAT slips to voters is “problematic and impractical”, and will lead to misuse, malpractices, and disputes. It rejected the submission to return to the ballot paper system as “foible and unsound”, adding that the weakness of the ballot paper system is well-known and documented.

However, the Supreme Court passed two directions not because it had any doubt, but to only further strengthen the integrity of the election process.

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INDIA 2024 India News Politics

Show cause notice issued to BJP ex-MLA for criticism

Das mentioned that Sarma demeaned the party’s position before the public and also tried to provoke voters against the party on polling day….reports Asian Lite News

Assam BJP has issued a show cause notice to its former MLA Ashok Sarma for criticising the party leadership.

Sarma was an MLA from Nalbari and according to show cause notice, he spoke before the media against the party leadership and also made the party’s internal matter public.

Assam BJP General Secretary and MP Pallab Lochan Das wrote to Sarma that the party’s Nalbari district unit conducted a meeting and complained to state BJP President Bhabesh Kalita against the former MLA.

Das mentioned that Sarma demeaned the party’s position before the public and also tried to provoke voters against the party on polling day.

As per the notice, the former MLA’s behaviour was a “clear violation of the party’s discipline”.

Earlier, Sarma was accused of engaging in anti-party activities during the Lok Sabha poll campaign. BJP MP Dilip Saikia had launched a sharp attack against Sarma, claiming that the former MLA has worked against him in the Darrang-Udalguri Lok Sabha seat.

Assam minister Jayanta Mallabaruah has also criticised Sarma’s stand against the party without taking his name and hinted about a possible strict against him.

In the 2016 state Assembly polls, both Sarma and Mallabaruah were strong contenders for the BJP ticket from the Nalbari seat. The party leadership gave ticket to Sarma and he became an MLA from Nalbari. However, in the 2021 elections, Mallabaruah was chosen over Sarma and the former became the minister in the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led cabinet after winning the Nalbari assembly constituency.

Meanwhile, Assam minister Jayanta Mallabaruah asserted that some of the old guards in the state BJP unit, who took a different stand disobeying the party line, will face disciplinary action once Lok Sabha polls are over in the country.

“Leaders associated with our party since 1950 have hardly devoted any time to the party. I joined the BJP in 2015 and since then I have been giving my everything to the party,” Mallabaruah told media persons.

Although the state cabinet minister did not take names, his salvo was aimed towards former union minister Rajen Gohain and ex-MLA from Nalbari Ashok Sharma.

Between 1991 and 2014, Gohain won the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat four times and represented the BJP in the lower house of the parliament.

However, he was denied a ticket in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Later Gohain was given a cabinet rank post in the Assam government.

Post-delimitation exercise in Assam for redrawing boundaries of assembly and parliamentary constituencies in the state, Rajen Gohain took a hard stand against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

He alleged that the Assam Chief Minister made Nagaon a minority-dominated seat which was considered a BJP bastion for a very long time. The former union minister also left the cabinet-rank post in the state government.

This time, BJP has fielded Congress turncoat Suresh Borah in the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat which has of course further irked Rajen Gohain. He continued to attack the BJP state leadership during the poll campaign which drew criticism from other party leaders.

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INDIA 2024 India News Politics

Congress chief promises 10 kg ration against NDA’s 5kg

Kharge cited the examples of Karnataka and Telangana and said that Congress governments have implemented the same, there….reports Asian Lite News

Amid the high-decibel campaign and fierce competition between BJP and the INDIA bloc to woo new voters, the free ration to the country’s 80 crore citizens has become a new rallying point for the latter.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, addressing a joint press conference with Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday, said that the INDIA bloc will provide 10 kg free ration to people, as against NDA’s 5 kg.

“You are giving 5 kg ration to poor, we will provide 10 kg free ration,” Kharge said while scoffing at Modi govt’s assertions on feeding the poor.

Kharge cited the examples of Karnataka and Telangana and said that Congress governments have implemented the same, there.

He also accused the Modi government of taking ‘undue credit’ over free ration and said that this was brought out by the Congress-led UPA government under the Food Security Act.

Notably, the Congress manifesto for the 2024 elections didn’t mention free ration and now has suddenly popped up after the culmination of the fourth phase of elections.

The major thrust of the Congress poll manifesto was on empowering women with Rs 1 lakh yearly assistance and apprenticeship to unemployed youth, under which they can avail assistance upto Rs 1 lakh.

Interestingly, the Congress President’s promise comes a day after Home Minister Amit Shah’s assertions that the BJP has already won 270 seats and the next three phases will only add numbers to its kitty.

The free ration to people started during the Covid pandemic to feed the poor and needy, has continued since then. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also declared before the polls that this scheme would continue for another five years, in his third term.

According to estimates, the average yearly cost of this scheme comes at around Rs 2 lakh crore. If Congress forms the next government and implements it, the budget will shoot up and by rough estimates, it would accrue an expense of Rs 4 lakh crore per year.

The slew of promises in Congress’ Nyay Patra including assistance to women and the unemployed and the formula to achieve it has already come under scrutiny from experts. If free ration also gets included in the list, it will add further burden on the taxpayers.

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INDIA 2024 India News Politics

Phase 5: UP braces for high profile contests

Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi are among the several high-profile candidates vying for Lok Sabha in the 5th phase of elections….reports Asian Lite News

As Uttar Pradesh inches closer to the fifth phase of polling on May 20, the prestige of several high-profile candidates will be at stake.

In the fifth phase, voting will be held on 14 Lok Sabha seats including Mohanlalganj, Lucknow, Raebareli, Amethi, Jalaun, Jhansi, Hamirpur, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambhi, Barabanki, Faizabad, Kaiserganj and Gonda.

In 2019, the BJP won 13 of the 14 seats in this phase while the Congress won the Raebareli seat.

Union defence minister Rajnath Singh is seeking a third term from Lucknow. Backed by a strong party organisation, Rajnath Singh is on a safe wicket and the candidates pitted against him — Ravidas Mehrotra of SP and Sarwar Malik of BSP — are comparatively ‘weak’.

Union minister Smriti Irani is contesting against K L Sharma of the Congress in Amethi. Sharma is seen as a minor threat to Irani who is working for a second term from Amethi.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is contesting from Raebareli in the fifth phase and is pitted against BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh.

Raebareli is the second seat for the Gandhi scion. He is also contesting from Wayanad in Kerala.

Another high-profile seat that will be going to polls in the fifth phase is Kaiserganj where the sitting MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has been denied a ticket and his son Karan Bhushan Singh is in the electoral fray.

Karan Bhushan Singh is pitted against Bhagat Ram Mishra of SP and Narendra Pandey of BSP.

Union minister Kaushal Kishore is seeking his third term in the Mohanlalganj Lok Sabha constituency. He is facing tough competition from former UP minister R K Chaudhary who is the SP candidate. The BSP candidate is Rajesh Kumar.

In Jhansi, former Union minister Pradeep Jain Aditya is contesting on a Congress ticket and is being challenged by the sitting MP, Anurag Sharma, of BJP. The BSP candidate is Ravi Prakash Maurya, a local student leader.

Union minister Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma (BJP) is seeking his sixth term as Lok Sabha member in Jalaun. He is facing first-time candidates from SP and BSP.

In Hamirpur, sitting BJP MP Pushpendra Singh Chandel is seeking his third term and is being challenged by Ajendra Singh Rajput of Samajwadi Party.

In Banda, sitting BJP MP R K Singh Patel is seeking re-election. He is being challenged by Samajwadi Party’s Krishna Devi Patel and BSP’s Mayank Dwivedi — son of former BSP leader late Purushottam Naresh Dwivedi.

In Fatehpur, Union minister and sitting BJP MP, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, is also seeking her third term. She is being challenged by former SP state chief, Naresh Uttam Patel.

The Kaushambhi Lok Sabha seat has sitting BJP MP Vinod Sonkar seeking a third term while Pushpendra Saroj, a 25-year-old, is contesting on an SP ticket. Pushpendra is the son of SP leader Inderjit Saroj.

The Barabanki Lok Sabha seat is witnessing a direct contest between Rajrani Rawat of the BJP and Tanuj Punia of the Congress.

In Faizabad, sitting BJP MP Lallu Singh is seeking his third term. He is pitted against veteran politician Avadesh Prasad of SP.

The Gonda Lok Sabha seat is witnessing a direct contest between Kirti Vardhan Singh, the sitting BJP MP and Shreya Varma of SP.

Shreya is the granddaughter of former Union minister Beni Prasad Varma and is making her political debut in these elections.

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