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UP Polls: Polling moves to heart of Uttar Pradesh; to complete halfway mark today
“Picture still unclear, confusing” as voting will be held in 59 constituencies of nine districts to decide the fate of 624 candidates
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Uttar Pradesh assembly elections will pass the halfway mark when the fourth phase of the polls will be conducted in 59 constituencies of nine districts on Wednesday.
The nine districts include six in central UP and one each in Bundelkhand, Rohilkhand and eastern UP.
The seven-phase elections began on February 10 from the western UP region and on Wednesday will cover a large part of central UP, including Lucknow. The day will also see voting in Lakhimpur Kheri that attained prominence due to the farmer’ movement and the infamous October 3 incident in which eight people, including four farmers, died during violence.
The fourth-phase constituencies had witnessed a see-saw outcome between BJP and SP in 2017 and 2012.
Of the 59 seats, BJP had won only four in 2012 while SP also could win only four seats in 2017.
In 2017, BJP won 50 seats, SP 4, Congress 2, BSP-2 and BJP allyApna Dal-S one.
In 2012, the SP won 40 seats, BJP 4, BSP 12, Congress 2 and Peace Party one.
A total of 2,12,90,564 voters will decide the fate of 624 candidates on Wednesday.
By 6 pm, the elections would have covered 231 of the total 403 constituencies and 35 of the total 75 districts in the state.
“The trend that began with western UP continues even to the fourth phase -- the picture unclear and confusing. It’s going to be a very tough fight between the BJP and the SP,” said a UP political analyst and former head of department of political science SK Dwivedi.
None of these districts can be termed as a stronghold of any party.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi addressed a virtual rally to Rae Bareli voters on Monday and her daughter and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra camped there for two days making a fervent appeal to people to reject BJP and vote for Congress. Of the five assembly seats in the district, the Congress could win none in 2012 but won two seats in 2017. The Congress 2017’s winner on the Rae Bareli assembly seat is now contesting the same seat as BJP candidate.
BJP won eight of the total nine seats of Lucknow in 2017 and SP only one, while the SP had won seven in 2012 and BJP only one.
This phase has some interesting contests lined up with spotlight on SP’s Hardoi MLA and now deputy speaker Nitin Agrawal as the BJP candidate; Ex-ED officer Rajeshwar Singh (BJP) vs ex-SP minister Abhishek Singh on Lucknow’s Sarojinnagar seat; ministers Ashutosh Tandon, Brajesh Pathak on Lucknow East and Lucknow Cantt seats; first-timer SP’s Pooja Shukla (a student leader who had showed black flag to CM Yogi Adityanath in June 2017) on Lucknow North seat, Aditi Singh, who won Rae Bareli seat as Congress candidate in 2017 now defending the same seat as BJP candidate, SP’s Brahmin leader Manoj Pandey is contesting to stay the Unchahar MLA for the third time, and Asha Singh, the Unnao rape victim’s mother, as Congress candidate on Unnao seat.
“Though both BJP and SP are posturing that they are winning the polls, but amid the confusion, there is a clear desperation rising in BJP and SP camps and the poll narrative is now shifting to terrorism,” said Dwivedi.
Another political analyst, Prof CP Rai agrees with Dwivedi on shifting of poll narrative in desperation, but says it was the sign of SP-allies doing “better than the BJP...so far. And this trend will now continue till the last phase.”
Following the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts case verdict on Friday, the BJP leaders initiated the terror narrative and began accusing SP and Congress of being sympathizers of terrorists.
Rai also says: “The recent statement of Amit Shah on BSP and Muslim voters indicates that BJP is on shaky ground and is expecting the support of Mayawati in case it was needed after the results came in.”
After Wednesday’s phase, the battle will move to largely the eastern UP region. The seventh and final phase is scheduled for March 7 and result date is March 10.
