India, March 3 -- Union defence minister Rajnath Singh will take on Samajwadi Party veteran Ravidas Mehrotra in Lucknow, a BJP bastion since 1991.

With the announcement of Rajnath Singh's candidature, the ball has been set rolling for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the state capital.

For the past several elections, contest in the state capital has been confined between the BJP and others, who contested for the second place. Other candidates were in fray here just to fulfill formalities of electoral politics and ensure representation of their parties.

However, there will be no Congress candidate this year from Lucknow as the seat has gone to the Samajwadi Party which is part of the INDIA alliance.

This will be the third consecutive time w...