Following the first round of polls which saw a voter turnout of around approximately, 63%, the country is all set to walk into the second phase of Lok Sabha polls on Friday. The phase will see 89 seats across fourteen states and UTs go to polls promising a spate of high-voltage clashes and crucial contests with star campaigners and popular party faces entering the fray from both the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led INDIA blocs.

Outlook looks at a few of the major players on the cards for Phase 2 of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

Rahul Gandhi (Wayanad, Congress): Seeking re-election from Wayanad, Congress MP and former President Rahul Gandhi enters the electoral fray in the second phase of the elections. Following a shocking loss in the hands of BJP’s Smriti Irani from Amethi in 2019, RaGa contested and secured a thumping win from Wayanad by a substantial margin. However, this year, Wayanad promises a high-voltage three-pronged clash with incumbent MP Gandhi pitted against CPI’s Annie Raja and BJP State President K Surendran, in a state which has seen Congress dominate since 2009 and no BJP MP ever nominated from the state. Follow Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase 2 LIVE Updates

Arun Govil (Meerut, BJP): ??Arun Govil, known for his portrayal of Lord Rama in the popular Ramayan TV series, is set to contest the polls in the second phase from Meerut, replacing three-time BJP MP Rajendra Agarwal who has been contesting from the seat since 2004. Govil was square off against Bahujan Samajwadi Party's (BSP) Devvrat Kumar Tyagi and Samajwadi Party's (SP) Sunita Verma. A star campaigner for BJP in its stronghold state, Govil, who joined the party in 2021, will look to secure a comfortable win in Meerut after BJP’s worrisome win margin in the 2019 elections.

Hema Malini (Mathura, BJP): Another popular star-campaigner for BJP and two-time MP Hema Malini will be going into polls from Mathura in the second phase of the elections, looking to bag a third win on the trot. She is pitted against Mukesh Dhangar, a member of the All-India Congress Committee, and Suresh Singh of the BSP. Hema Malini bagged the seat for the first time in 2014, defeating the then-incumbent MP and National Chairman of the Rashtriya Lok Dal, Jayant Chaudhary and repeating the feat in 2014 against RLD’s Kunwar Narendra Singh.

Shashi Tharoor (Thiruvananthapuram, Congress): Taking charge from the front, the Thiruvananthapuram seat has almost become synonymous with senior Congress leader, incumbent MP and a popular national face, Shashi Tharoor. Tharoor, who has been winning the seat since 2009, is set to contest against heavyweight BJP candidate and Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and CPI’s Pannyan Raveendran. Following two consecutive CPI wins in the constituency, Tharoor has established himself as Congress’ force to reckon with in the state.

Om Birla (Kota, BJP): Incumbent Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla looks to establish Kota as a BJP stronghold in Rajasthan by winning the seat for the third time in a row. The seasoned BJP leader will go against Congress’ Prahlad Gunjal, in a bid to retain his presence in the Lower House. A veteran BJP presence in the state, he had served as an MLA in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from the Kota South Assembly constituency between 2003 and 2014.

Tejasvi Surya (Bangalore South, BJP): Incumbent MP from Bangalore South and the National President of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) since 2020, Tejasvi Surya is set to seek a second win from the constituency. Facing popular Congress candidate and general secretary of the All India Mahila Congress, Sowmya Reddy, Surya will look to echo his strong performance in 2019, where defeated Congress candidate B K Hariprasad with a margin of over three lakh votes. Poised to be a high-voltage clash of young and dynamic faces, Congress will hope to put a spanner in the works in what has been a BJP stronghold since 1991.

Bhupesh Baghel (Rajnandgaon, Congress): The very seasoned Bhupesh Baghel, former chief minister of Chhattisgarh, is another major name on the cards for Congress in the second phase of polls. Contesting from the Rajnandgaon constituency, a BJP stronghold for over decades, Baghel, who served as the CM of Chhattisgarh between 2018 and 2013, squares off against incumbent MP BJP's Santosh Pandey who won by over a margin of 1 lakh votes in 2019 against Congress’ Bhola Ram Sahu. Baghel’s entry promises an interesting contest in the state, where the Congress would like to put up a better performance after securing only 2 out of 11 in 2019.