New Delhi, May 9: Poll battle continues to turn more intriguing, as the electoral contest continues to advance into its second last phase. The entire Hindi heartland barring Rajasthan goes to polls in this round of the elections -- with the crux of the battle being centred in Delhi, the national capital. Here are five key contests to watch out in sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections 2019, scheduled on May 12.

East Delhi: Atishi vs Gautam Gambhir

AAP candidate Atishi, an Oxford alumni who is credited for turning around the state of public education in Delhi through her role as the parliamentary secretary to State Education Minister Manish Sisodia, has entered the Lok Sabha poll fray with education as her core poll plank. List of States And Constituencies Voting On May 12

She is primarily being challenged by former cricket Gautam Gambhir, who took the political plunge by joining the BJP last month. The ex-Indian opener has been in news since a couple of years for his anti-Pakistan views on social media.

The seat also witnesses a third main challenger in form of Congress veteran Arvinder Singh Lovely. After jumping ship to the BJP in 2017, Lovely made his back to the party last year.

In 2014, the East Delhi seat was won by BJP's Maheish Girri. He was denied ticket in this elections.

Azamgarh: Akhilesh Yadav vs Dinesh Lal Yadav aka 'Nirahua'

From the Samajwadi Party bastion of Azamgarh, former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav is in the fray. His is mainly being challenged by BJP candidate and popular Bhojpuri actor Dinesh Lal Yadav aka 'Nirahua'.

Falling in the Purvanchal belt, Azamgarh has a high number of electorate speaking Bhojpuri and following the local film industry. However, the odds are stacked up against Nirahua as the seat has historically voted for the SP -- with party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav emerging winner from the constituency even during the Narendra Modi wave of 2014.

Sonipat: Bhupinder Singh Hooda vs Ramesh Kaushik

If the Congress eyes an electoral revival in Haryana, the victory of Bhupinder Singh Hooda is more essential than ever. The former chief minister is leading a high-octane campaign in Sonepat against sitting MP and BJP candidate Ramesh Kaushik. The Congress top brass, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, had entered the electioneering fray for Hooda. The fate of the 71-year-old will be out on May 23.

Delhi North East: Sheila Dikshit vs Manoj Tiwari

Congress' tallest leader in Delhi-NCR, Sheila Diskhit, has returned to the electoral fray six years after being routed by the then debutant Arvind Kejriwal. In a battle between two state unit chiefs, Dikshit - who heads Delhi Congress - will be challenging BJP Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari. The prospects of the 79-year-old have been hurt by the aggressive campaign being led by AAP candidate Dilip Pandey. Interestingly, Pandey is also the Delhi unit convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party.

Sultanpur: Maneka Gandhi vs Chandra Bhadra Singh

In a swap of seats, Maneka Gandhi, the sitting MP from Pilibhit, was deployed by the BJP to Sultanpur -- the seat currently held by his son Varun Gandhi. The latter was issued ticket from his mother's constituency.

Pollsters claim that the decision to swap seats could be the stringent contest which the BJP faces in Sultanpur, where SP-BSP has combined and issued ticket to former MLA Chandra Bhadra Singh aka Sonu Singh.

The poll battle here had allegedly taken communal undertone as the EC had red-flagged a speech by Maneka where she said that she would be reluctant to work for Muslims if the community has no role in her victory.

A casteist undertone was also attached to electoral fight after Varun Gandhi, while campaigning for Maneka, said "people like" the SP-BSP candidate from Sultanpur "untie his shoelace".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 09, 2019 02:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).