Campaigning ends for first phase of polling in UP

Electioneering ended on Tuesday evening for the first phase of assembly polls in western Uttar Pradesh after a busy day during which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the main opposition Samajwadi Party released their manifestoes.

Polling will take place for 58 assembly constituencies spread across 11 districts, out of the 403 seats in the state, on Thursday.

Under Election Commission guidelines, campaigning has to end 48 hours before the close of polls for each phase.

The canvassing for the first phase remained confined to the virtual medium due to a ban on road shows and physical rallies in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Addressing a virtual rally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched in for a double-engine government for fast-paced development while attacking the Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal combine.

The rally aimed at voters in Rampur, Budaun and Sambhal district, which will go to the polls in the second phase.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah tried to put the spotlight back on alleged 'exodus' of Hindus from Kairana before 2017. He held door-to-door campaigning in Mathura.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav claimed that people have made up their mind to vote out the BJP from power.

The SP-RLD alliance has centred their electioneering on farmers' issues and attacked UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over poll promises.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, who started campaigning late, reminded people of her government's track record on law and order in the past.

The Congress under the leadership of its general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has generated interest as seen in road shows and door-to-door campaigning by her.

Though the main contest is believed to be between the BJP and the SP-RLD, the BSP too has its influence on some seats in the first phase.

The polling on the 58 seats, of which nine are reserved, will be held between 7 am and 6 pm on Thursday.

The districts where the elections will be held are Shamli, Hapur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura and Agra.

The first phase will cover the Jat-dominant belt of western UP.

As many as 623 candidates are in the fray in the first phase.

The first phase of polling will also decide the fate of nine ministers in the Yogi Adityanath government.

The ministers whose electoral fate will be decided are Suresh Rana, Atul Garg, Shrikant Sharma, Sandeep Singh, Anil Sharma, Kapil Dev Agarwal, Dinesh Khatik, Dr G S Dharmesh and Chaudhary Laxmi Narain.

Around 2.27 crore people are eligible to vote in this phase.

Last time, the BJP bagged 53 of the 58 seats while the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan samaj party got two seats each. One seat went to the Rashtriya Lok Dal.