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UP bypolls: Campaigning ends, stage set for multi-cornered fight
On Tuesday, voting will be held for the seats of Naugawan Sadat, Bulandshahr, Tundla, Bangarmau, Ghatampur, Deoria and Malhani
Campaigning for the by-election on seven assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh ended on Sunday, setting the stage for a multi-cornered contest on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, voting will be held for the seats of Naugawan Sadat, Bulandshahr, Tundla, Bangarmau, Ghatampur, Deoria and Malhani. The results will be declared on November 10.
“Polling will be held according to the Covid-19 guidelines. Central paramilitary forces and district police have been deployed at the booths. The Election Commission has decided to conduct live webcast of polling at sensitive booths,” an election commission official said.
The Election Commission has set up 3,655 polling stations and 1,755 polling centers in the seven assembly segments where 2,427,922 voters are expected to exercise their franchise. The highest number of voters, 388,466, are in Bulandshahr assembly segment.
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Bulandshahr has the highest number of candidates, 18. Malhani has 16 candidates, Deoria and Naugawan Sadat have 14 each, Tundla and Bangermau have 10 each, and Ghatampur assembly seat located in Kanpur district has six candidates in the fray.
Of the seven seats, Naugawan Sadat, Ghatampur, Bulandshahar, Deoria and Malhani fell vacant due to the demise of sitting MLAs -- Chetan Chauhan, Kamal Rani Varun, Virendra Singh Sirohi, Janmejai Singh and Parasanath Yadav respectively.
Bangarmau assembly seat in Unnao district fell vacant after the disqualification of the sitting MLA, Kuldeep Singh Sengar, following his conviction in a rape case on December 20, 2019.
While six seats were held by BJP, one was won by the SP in the 2017 assembly election. Samajwadi Party national president said Akhilesh Yadav exuded confidence in his party’s ability to emerge victorious. He said the SP, along with its partner Rashtriya Lok Dal, would get massive support on all the seats. The SP has left the Bulandshahr seat for RLD and is contesting from the rest of the six seats. “The bypolls are significant and the results be indicative of 2022 UP assembly polls,” Akhilesh said.
While several top BJP leaders, including chief minister Yogi Adityanath, have campaigned in the poll-bound constituencies, none of the top Opposition leaders, including Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav or BSP chief Mayawati has done so. Mayawati has issued an appeal to voters to help her party win. “We will win by a huge margin,” said UP BJP secretary Chandramohan.
