Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged those eligible to vote in the sixth phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election. The prime minister posted on Twitter and reminded people that every vote counts in the 'festival of democracy'.
"The festival of democracy in Uttar Pradesh has entered its sixth phase today. It is my humble request to all the voters that they must participate in this festival with their votes. Every single vote of yours (is) the power of democracy!" he tweeted.
LIVE UPDATES: UP Assembly election 6th phase, Yogi Adityanath contesting
Home minister Amit Shah earlier also appealed to people to choose a 'dynast and corruption-free' government for UP. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, contesting his first Assembly election today from his stronghold of Gorakhpur - said the polls had reached a decisive stage.
{{/usCountry}}Home minister Amit Shah earlier also appealed to people to choose a 'dynast and corruption-free' government for UP. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, contesting his first Assembly election today from his stronghold of Gorakhpur - said the polls had reached a decisive stage.
{{/usCountry}}Shah tweeted: "Today is the sixth phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh. I appeal to all the voters that only a strong government free from corruption and dynast can take Uttar Pradesh forward on the path of progress."
Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.
Polling will be held for 57 seats in 10 districts - Gorakhpur, Ambedkarnagar, Ballia, Balrampur, Basti, Deoria, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Sant Kabir Nagar, and Siddharthnagar.
Adityanath tops the chart of the prominent faces in this phase; he is contesting the polls from the Gorakhpur (urban) seat. Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded Khwaja Shamsuddin against the chief minister, while the Samajwadi Party has given its ticket to Subhavati Shukla, the wife of a late former BJP leader. The Congress' Chetna Pandey is also in the fray here.
The chief minister, a five-time MP from the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency, cast his vote early this morning. In the 2017 election this seat was won by the BJP's Radha Mohan Das Agrawal by a 60,000-vote margin, and the party won eight of nine Assembly segments here.
The seventh and final phase of the election will be held on March 7 and votes will be counted on March 10.
With input from ANI