MUST READ: These are the 30 biggest battles in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to look forward to on counting day

With days ticking by till all-important vote counting scheduled for May 23, nation is on threshold of welcoming a new government. While heline statistic that everyone is attempting to predict revolves around numbers NDA and UPA are likely to get in total, ro to determining that outcome also contains some fascinating and compelling individual battles. Some of se involve powerful contenders from two big national parties, while ors are interesting for a number of or reasons.

Here's a list of 30 biggest contests to look forward to on counting day:

1. Amethi (Uttar Presh): Kwn to be a tritional Congress bastion, BJP has fielded Union Minister Smriti Irani against Congress president Rahul Gandhi. voting day in Amethi in fifth phase was marked by charges of 'booth-rigging' by Irani and Congress president Rahul Gandhi being absent from constituency. In 2014, Irani lost to Rahul Gandhi from same seat with a vote-margin of 1.07 lakh votes or a vote-ratio of about 3:4. This time, her challenge has forced Rahul Gandhi to also seek election from Wayan.
    
2. Begusarai (Bihar):  Begusarai constituency, which is among most talked about seats in Bihar, recorded a comparatively high turut of 61.27%, as per EC. constituency has been under a microscope as it is witnessing electoral debut of CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar, controversial former JNUSU president who is pitted against BJP leer and union minister Giriraj Singh.  Mahagathbandhan's minee is Tanweer Hasan (RJD).
    
3. Rampur (Uttar Presh): constituency kwn for sending to Lok Sabha India's first education minister, Maulana Abul Kalam Az, is w at centre of a bitter battle between Samajwi Party strongman Azam Khan and BJP's Jaya Pra. With Congress fielding Sanjay Kapoor, fight in Rampur has become triangular.  seat is currently held by BJP’s Nepal Singh who won seat for first time in 2014 by defeating SP's Naseer Ahm Khan.
    
4. Asansol (West Bengal): One of state's multiple constituencies to have witnessed a lot of poll-related violence will see BJP's star candidate and Union Minister Babul Supriyo facing Trinamool's Moon Moon Sen who is incumbent MP from Bankura. Historically, Trinamool has never won from Asansol. Even its parent party Congress last won in 1984, during election after Indira Gandhi's assassination.
    
5. East Delhi: A tritional BJP stronghold, Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP has fielded Atishi Marlena kwn to script development in Delhi's government schools under Kejriwal government. Against her, BJP has pitted cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir, and two have h a short, sharp and unsavoury campaign against each or, so much so that senior Congress leer Arvinder Singh Lovely has been reduced to somewhat of an also-ran.
    
6. Mumbai South (Maharashtra): Here, Shiv Sena’s Arvind Sawant is having a face-off against Congress' Mumbai chief Milind Deora. Deora attracted a lot of attention when big industrialists including Mukesh Ambani backed him. While in 2014, Arvind Sawant h beaten Milind Deora by 1.28 lakh votes, in 2009, Deora h beaten Bala Nandaonkar of MNS by 1.12 lakh votes.
    
7. Mumbai rth (Maharashtra): Congress has fielded newly-inducted actor-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar against BJP's Gopal Shetty. In 2014, Gopal Shetty h beaten Congress heavyweight and former Mumbai chief Sanjay Nirupam by 4 lakh votes. In 2009, Nirupam h won by beating BJP’s Ram Naik in a neck-and-neck fight. Govinda is a past holder of seat, contesting on a Congress ticket. Urmila Matondkar will be looking to emulate her 'Kunwara' co-star.
    
8. Patna Sahib (Bihar) - A mouthwatering contest looms in Bihar's Patna Sahib constituency as former BJP leer and w a Congress member Shatrughan Sinha is pitted against Union Minister Ravi Shankar Pras. In  BJP bastion, Sinha has said that people of Bihar will vote for 'dhartiputra'.
    
9. Luckw (Uttar Presh): While Shatrughan Sinha joined Congress, his wife Poonam Sinha joined Akhilesh Yav-led Samajwi party and is contesting from Luckw against BJP's Rajnath Singh. Congress, meanwhile, has fielded Acharya Pramod Krishnam. This seat has been held by BJP since 1991 with Rajnath winning seat first time in 2014. Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee has also previously held this prestigious seat.
    
10. Sivaganga (Tamil Nu): Here, it’s a direct fight between Congress and BJP, namely P Chidamabaram’s son Karti Chidambaram and BJP’s H Raja. sitting MP is PR Senthilnathan of AIMK who beat Dhurai Raaj Subha of DMK in 2014 general elections. H Raja of BJP came third and is BJP-AIMK's contender this time around.
     
11. Mandya (Karnataka): This constituency in Karnataka has an interesting battle with actor-turned-politician Nikhil Gowda who is son of Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy and grandson of former PM HD Deve Gowda taking on Sumalatha Ambareesh. Sumalatha is wife of Kanna superstar Ambareesh, is contesting as Independent, but in a twist, has support of BJP as well as (allegedly and tacitly) Congress.
     
12. Thootokudi (Tamil Nu): constituency witnessed protests over  Sterlite copper plant last year in which 13 people were shot de, and has witnessed volatility that may translate into anti-incumbency. Riding on same, late DMK supremo Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi is contesting against BJP's Tamil Nu chief Tamilisai Soundararajan.
     
13. Nizamab (Telangana):  An outlier among 543 constituencies going to polls in 2019 elections, Nizamab will see sitting MP K Kavitha, daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, square up against 179 farmers (aside from or politicians) who are contesting en masse. 179 farmers entered fray as a mark of protest, alleging that ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) h failed to ensure Minimum Support Price for turmeric and red jowar (sorghum) produce and in getting Turmeric Board established in Nizamab. polling necessitated use of a record number of EVMs per polling booth, as per EC.
     
14. Wayan (Kerala): Congress chief Rahul Gandhi contesting from this constituency apart from Congress' bastion in Amethi has me relatively new seat becoming a national talking point. Against him are PP Suneer of CPI(M) and Thushar Vellappally of Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (an ally of BJP). Interestingly, Congress chief will be fighting with three namesakes: two Independent candidates, K.E. Rahul Gandhi and K.M. Shivpras Gandhi, and K. Raghul Gandhi of Agila India Makkal Kazhagam party.
     
15. Nanded (Maharashtra): Maharashtra's Nanded is one of few constituencies that held out during 2014 Modi wave. A Chavan family bastion, Ashok Chavan is pitted against BJP's Pratap Chikhalikar, who is an MLA in assembly. Historically, barring four times, Congress has always won Nanded. BJP has won from seat once, in 2004. 
     
16. Kendrapara (Odisha): Odisha's Kendrapara seat will witness a contest between Baijayant 'Jay' Panda who was BJD MP from 2009 till he resigned in 2018 and joined BJP. Declared vice president of party, he is pitted against BJD's actor-turned-politician Anubhav Mohanty who is a Rajya Sabha member. 
     
17. Bangalore South (Karnataka): saffron bastion will see BJP's Tejasvi Surya take on Congress’ BK Haripras. After untimely death of BJP leer and union minister Ananth Kumar who h held constituency since 1996, BJP has fielded a young face in Tejasvi Surya. late Ananth Kumar h beaten Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, n a Congress candidate, in 2014. 
     
18. Jodhpur (Rajasthan): Senior Congress leer and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot has been fielded against BJP's Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. This is a prestige battle if ever re was one and also, somewhat of a verdict on senior Gehlot's four months at helm os state. 
     
19. Jaipur Rural (Rajasthan): An interesting electoral contest is on cards in Rajasthan’s Jaipur Rural constituency where two Olympians — BJP’s Col Rajyavardhan Rathore and Congress’ Krishna Poonia — will face each or in Lok Sabha polls. Col Rathore is sitting MP.
     
20. Bhopal (Mhya Presh): A BJP bastion, this constituency has taken centrest ever since  BJP fielded Malegaon blast-accused Shvi Pragya from seat against Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh. Singh has been CM of Mhya Presh and is contesting an election after a gap of almost 19 years, last being assembly election he contested in 2003. He was minated to Rajya Sabha in 2014 from Mhya Presh. BJP however has consistently been winning  seat of Bhopal since 1989. BJP's Alok Sanjar is sitting MP from Bhopal Lok Sabha seat. What makes contest especially interesting, however, is fact that Digvijaya Singh was one of most significant proposers of 'Saffron terror/Hindu terror' which cited Malegaon blasts among ors.
     
21. Dhubri Rural (Assam): Assam's Dhubri constituency is a battle to watch out for. It is bastion of AIUDF. However, re seems to be disillusionment with AIUDF among its core voters -  Bengali speaking Muslims of Lower Assam. AIUDF chief Bruddin Ajmal is contesting against Congress candidate is Abu Tehar Bapari, a two time MLA from Gokolganj. BJP is t contesting with ally AGP contesting under NDA colours from seat. Its candidate is Javed Islam, who is son of veteran Congress leer from district Zehirul Islam.  Trinamool too has fielded a strong candidate in lawyer Nurul Islam Chaudhary, who was with AIUDF previously.
     
22. Arunachal West (Arunachal Presh): Union Minister and one of most popular faces in Modi government, Kiren Rijiju, is seeking re-election from this seat. However, he is up against a formidable opponent in former Arunachal Presh CM Nabam Tuki. Jarjum Ete of JD(S),  Khoda Apik of National Peoples' Party (NPP) are also candidates that are expected to get traction among voters.
     
23. Solapur (Maharashtra): This constituency in Maharashtra is one to watch for as Congress veteran Sushil Kumar Shinde is fighting his 'last election'. Against him is Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of BR Ambedkar, who is he of Vanchit Bahujan Aghi (VBA) and has backing of AIMIM. BJP has replaced its sitting MP Shar Bansode and has fielded Lingayat seer Jaisiddeshwar Swami.  pontiff of Gaudegaon math in Solapur's Akkalkot is BJP's big gambit from textile town.
     
24. Nagpur (Maharashtra): Maharashtra's Nagpur seat is one of state's most high-profile constituencies which also houses hequarters of RSS and will see Nitin Gkari do battle with former BJP MP and current Congress candidate Nana Patole.
     
25. Mhepura (Bihar): sitting MP of Mhepura is Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yav who won Lok Sabha seat in 2014 by defeating Shar Yav. While in 2014 he won on an RJD ticket, Pappu Yav has since formed his own party - Jan hikar party -  upon being expelled by Lalu Yav. He will once again take on Shar Yav.
     
26. rth Central Mumbai (Maharashtra): Late former union minister Pramod Mahajan's daughter Poonam Mahajan is up against Sunil Dutt's daughter Priya Dutt. In 2014, Poonam Mahajan h defeated Priya Sunil Dutt by almost 3 lakh votes. This time, Sanjay Dutt has lent some star heft to his sister's campaign. She has held constituency before, beating Mahesh Jethmalani of BJP in 2009.
     
27. Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir): Mehbooba Mufti is contesting Parliamentary elections from Anantnag constituency and polls are more than likely to be a referendum on her Chief Ministership which ended abruptly when BJP pulled its support to her PDP. NC has fielded former HC judge Justice Hasnain Masoodi who in 2015 ruled that Article 370 of Constitution cant be revoked. Congress has fielded its state chief GA Mir, who lost Dooru assembly constituency to Mehbooba's uncle in 2014. BJP, t exactly a major player in Anantnag, has fielded Sofi Youssaf.
     
28. rth East Delhi: Longest-serving Delhi CM and current Congress state president Sheila Dikshit is contesting against incumbent MP and BJP Delhi chief Maj Tiwari in a heavyweight battle. Also in fray is AAP's Dilip Pandey, making it a triangular battle.
     
29. Puri (Odisha): BJP's national spokesperson Sambit Patra is taking on Congress' Odisha unit media cell chairman Satyaprakash Nayak and incumbent BJD MP Pinaki Mishra, a spokesman of Naveen Patnaik's party. 
     
30. Gurdaspur (Punjab):  Actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol who recently joined BJP is pitted against Congress sitting MP Sunil Jakhar. Jakhar won seat in bypolls in 2017 following demise of BJP MP and actor Vid Khanna. constituency was tritionally a Congress stronghold but in 1998 Vid Khanna defeated Congress stalwart Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder. Khanna won again in 1999 and 2004. In 2009, he faced defeat at hands of Congress leer Partap Singh Bajwa but in 2014 won again by defeating Bajwa.

Apart from above, re are a number of or heline seats. Some that are eye-catching but presumed to be a t one-sided include Varanasi where PM Modi is contesting against Congress’ Ajay Rai, Gandhinagar where BJP chief Amit Shah is contesting from his and BJP's bastion, Raebareli where UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is contesting, Azamgarh where Akhilesh Yav is in fray and ors. Or bonafide contests include Haryana, where Congress has brought back its strongman former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his son, while BJP is contesting to repeat its 2014 performance, despite anti-incumbency wave for Mahar Lal Khattar government. In Himachal Presh, BJP's three-time MP and former state president of party state Anurag Thakur is facing stiff competition from Congress’ Ram Lal Thakur, former athlete and five-time legislator in Hamirpur parliamentary constituency. In Uttarkhand’s Tehri Lok Sabha seat, sitting BJP MP Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah of erstwhile royal family of Tehri state takes on Congress party state chief Pritam Singh.

Counting day is May 23 and results of all 543 Lok Sabha constituencies will be declared on same day. Watch Republic TV for quickest and most accurate trends, and most incisive and detailed analysis with Arnab and team.