Elections 2014: Uphill Task for Congress in Regions Voting in Phase 8

New Delhi: With nearly half of the 64 seats that go to polls in the penultimate round of the Lok Sabha elections today, Congress appears to have an uphill task to perform when the whole of Seemandhra and parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal cast their vote. (Elections: Full Coverage)

Conversely, its main rival BJP, which currently has only five seats in Wednesday's round, may have everything to gain if it improves its performance in heartland UP and Bihar and Uttarakhand. (Top 10 Contests in the Penultimate Phase of Election)

The fate of 1,737 candidates, including Rahul Gandhi (Amethi), his cousin Varun (Sultanpur), Union minister Beni Prasad Verma (Gonda), cricketer-turned-politician Mohammed Kaif (Phulpur-all in UP), Ram Vilas Paswan (Hajipur), Rabri Devi and Rajiv Pratap Rudy (Saran-all in Bihar) is in the hands of 18.47 crore voters who are eligible to cast their franchise. (India on Course for Record General Election Turnout)

Elections will also be held in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh where Pratibha, wife of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, is contesting while Anurag Thakur, sitting MP and son of former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, is the candidate in Hamirpur.

Seemandhra, comprising the areas of Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra Pradesh accounting for 25 seats, will vote for both Lok Sabha and Assembly. In the last two Parliamentary elections, Congress had done exceedingly well and had contributed overwhelmingly to the making of the UPA government at the Centre. (For Seemandhra's High-Stakes Election, More (Money) is More)

In 2009, the Congress had won 19 of the 25 seats in the region. It had also formed the government in Andhra Pradesh on both the occasions.

Besides Andhra Pradesh, elections will be held in seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar, 15 in UP, six in West Bengal, five in Uttarakhand, four in Himachal Pradesh and two in Jammu and Kashmir. (India Votes 2014: Track LIVE Updates)

Stakes are also high for TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu, who had lost the assembly elections both in 2004 and 2009, and Jagan Mohan Reddy, whose party is fighting the assembly elections for the first time.

In the outgoing Lok Sabha, TDP has four members while YSR Congress has two.The fate of Union ministers V Kishore Chandra Deo and M M Pallam Raju will be decided in Araku and Kakinada in North Coastal Andhra.

In Uttar Pradesh, of the 15 seats going to polls on Wednesday, Congress has seven, while BSP and SP have five and three respectively. (In Uttar Pradesh, Congress Faces a Bleak Prospect)

Seven seats are up for grabs in Bihar. Of this, the ruling Janata Dal (United) has four, while RJD has two and BJP one. (In Bihar, it's Lalu vs the BJP)

The Left parties, which had won all the six seats going to polls in West Bengal, also face a stiff challenge from the ruling Trinamool Congress. Of the six seats, the CPI (M) has four and CPI and AIFB one each. (Tie-Up with Mamata? 'No Way' Says CPM after CPI Comment)

In the hill state of Uttarakhand, a keen and direct contest between Congress and BJP is on the cards in the five seats. Chief Minister Harish Rawat's wife Renuka is making her maiden attempt to enter the Lok Sabha through Hardwar. In the last elections, Congress had won four of the five seats, leaving Tehri-Garwhal to BJP. (In Uttarakhand, BJP Counting on Modi Magic to Score a Big Win)

Similarly, in Himachal Pradesh, where the contest is straight between Congress and BJP, the saffron party had won three seats in the last elections. (All Arrangements In Place for Voting in Himachal Pradesh)

With elections in two constituencies - Baramulla and Ladakh - in Jammu and Kashmir, polling will be completed in all the seven constituencies today.

The Baramulla seat is now held by the ruling National Conference, while Independent Hassan Khan is the sitting MP from Ladakh.