Pilibhit Lok Sabha constituency: BJP's Jitin Prasada to face Bhagwat Gangwar of Samajwadi party; voting to take place on April 19

New Delhi [India], April 13 : The upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha Elections for the Pilibhit constituency in Uttar Pradesh holds immense significance in the electoral arena after the Bharatiya Janata Party fielded Jitin Prasada, replacing Varun Gandhi.
Pilibhit is one of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh. The voting will take place on April 19 as part of Phase 1. The constituents eagerly await the counting and announcement of results scheduled for June 4
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demonstrated a solid majority in UP in the previous two Lok Sabha elections, gaining the majority of seats.
Meanwhile, the BJP has fielded Jitin Prasad, the Samajwadi Party fielded Bhagwant Saran Gangwar and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) fielded Anees Ahmes Khan as key contenders in the electoral fray.
In the 2019 elections, BJP leader Feroze Varun Gandhi of the BJP emerged victorious in Pilibhit, securing a notable mandate with 704,549 votes with 59.4 per cent of votes.
Hemraj Verma of the Samajwadi Party (SP) garnered 448,922 votes, resulting in a victory margin of 255,627 votes.
Jitin Prasada had won the Lok Sabha polls in 2004 on a Congress ticket from the Shahjahanpur seat.
In 2009, he won from Dhaurahara seat and was made Union Minister in the Congress government. Later in 2021, he joined the BJP.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit and asked the citizens to support Jitin Prasada, UP's Public Works Minister and BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Pilibhit.
Posting on his official X handle, Jitin Prasada said that the Prime Minister addressed the huge public gathering in Pilibhit as the chief guest. "Every citizen of India is a part of his (Narendra Modi's) huge family, who, by his mere presence, gives boundless energy and direction to the organization and the citizens. On this occasion, while talking to the citizens of Pilibhit about the guarantee of the resolution of developed India, Honorable Prime Minister appealed to them to vote in maximum numbers in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and make the lotus bloom in Pilibhit and at the Centre with a huge number of votes."
Varun Gandhi who was fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
After Varun Gandhi was not fielded by his party, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Varun Gandhi on March 28, penned a heartfelt letter to the people of his constituency, saying that his relationship with Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit would not end till his last breath.
"Even though my tenure as an MP is coming to an end, my relationship with Pilibhit will continue till my last breath. If not as an MP, then as a son, I am committed to serving you throughout my life, and my doors will always remain open for you as before," Gandhi's letter read.
"I came into politics to raise the voice of the common man and today I seek your blessings to always continue doing this work, no matter what the cost," he continued.
The letter comes as the first reaction from Varun Gandhi after the party denied him a ticket from Pilbhit and has been posted on Gandhi's 'X' handle at a time when his term as Lok Sabha MP from the Pilbhit constituency is nearing completion ahead of the elections.
"The relationship between me and Pilibhit is one of love and trust, which is far above any political merit," Gandhi said.
Being the largest state in India by population, Uttar Pradesh commands the highest number of Lok Sabha seats, which is 80.
Voting for the 80 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh is set to occur in seven stages, spanning from April 19 to June 1.
Earlier in the 2019 elections, proving all the arithmetic of the SP-BSP 'mahagatbandhan' in Uttar Pradesh wrong, the BJP and its ally Apna Dal(S) won 64 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats. The alliance partners, Akhilesh Yadav's party and Mayawati Party's, won 15 seats.
The elections for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held from April 19 to June 1, with the counting of votes scheduled for June 4.