Gorakhpur Lok Sabha Constituency: Fierce battle between two Bhojpuri actors in CM Yogi bastion

Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 30 : Considered to be a bastion of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Gorakhpur is set for a fierce battle between the two Bhojpuri actors.
The Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Ravi Kishan and Samajwadi Party candidate Kajal Nishad from the INDIA Bloc are in the fray relying on star power to bag the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat.
Gorakhpur is one of the most high-profile seats that will vote in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha polls on June 1. It comprises five Vidhan Sabha segments, Caimpiyarganj, Pipraich, Gorakhpur Urban, Gorakhpur Rural, and Sahajanwa, covering the entire Gorakhpur District.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has once again fielded their sitting MP and actor Ravi Kishan as their Lok Sabha candidate, while the Samajwadi Party (SP) has fielded actress Kajal Nishad. The Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) has fielded Javed Simanani.
Also the Peethadheeshwar of the famous 'Gorakshapeeth' (Gorakhnath temple), Yogi Adityanath won the seat five times in a row from 1998 to 2014. In the by-elections held after he became the Chief Minister in 2017, the SP won from here, however, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP reclaimed the seat with Ravi Kishan as its candidate.
Ravi Kishan is banking on the support of CM Yogi, who served five terms as MP from the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency.
"I want to thank the top leadership wholeheartedly... The organization gave me a second chance from the hottest seat after Kashi. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the entire organisation and Prime Minister Modi. I will maintain this trust...BJP will win 400 seats and the Gorakhpur seat will create history." BJP MP Ravi Kishan said.
Earlier, UP CM Yogi Adityanath held a roadshow in Gorakhpur in support of BJP candidate Ravi Kishan.
SP's candidate, Kajal Nishad, has worked in the Bhojpuri film industry and is entering her first major political contest in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Kajal Nishad is a popular TV actress and has worked in various daily soaps, including Lapataganj.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Kishan emerged victorious against Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Rambhual Nishad with a margin of 3,01,664 votes.
The Gorakhpur constituency was won by Ravindra Shyamnarayan Shukla, also known as Ravi Kishan. Shukla secured a total of 7,17,122 votes in the electoral contest.
Uttar Pradesh is voting in all seven phases of the Lok Sabha polls, the last phase of which is scheduled for June 1.
The Congress is fighting the polls in partnership with the Samajwadi Party in the state and has a seat-sharing agreement with each other.
As per the seat agreement, Congress is contesting 17 seats, and the Samajwadi Party has the remaining 63 seats in the electorally crucial state.
In the 2019 general elections, the BJP emerged triumphant, securing 62 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, supplemented by two seats clinched by its ally Apna Dal (S). Mayawati's BSP managed to secure 10 seats, while Akhilesh Yadav's SP garnered five. Conversely, the Congress party secured only one seat.
The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats is being held in seven phases starting April 19. The counting of the votes will be held on June 4.