UP Polls: Yogi CM’s fate to be sealed today; 5 things to know about sixth phase of polling

Yogi Adityanath tops the list of 676 candidates in the fray in this phase. He is contesting from the Gorakhpur (urban) seat.

Polling for 57 constituencies in 10 districts for the sixth phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections began at 7 am. The sixth phase will also seal the fate of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who is contesting from his stronghold of Gorakhpur.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath casts his vote in the sixth phase of Assembly elections, in Gorakhpur on Thursday. (ANI)

Here are the 5 key things to know about the sixth phase of the UP polls:

- A total of 2.14 crore voters - 1.14 males, 99 lakh females and 1,320 third genders - are expected to exercise their right to decide the fate of 676 candidates.

- Yogi Adityanath tops the list of 676 candidates in the fray in this phase. He is contesting from the Gorakhpur (urban) seat. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has pitted Khwaja Shamsuddin while Samajwadi Party (SP) has fielded Subhavati Shukla, who is the wife of late Upendra Dutt Shukla, a former BJP leader, against Adityanath. Meanwhile, Congress' Chetna Pandey will also fight against Adityanath.

- The ten districts going to the polls in the sixth phase are Gorakhpur, Ambedkarnagar, Ballia, Balrampur, Basti, Deoria, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Sant Kabir Nagar and Siddharthnagar.

- The seats polling are Katehari, Tanda, Alapur, Jalalpur, Akbarpur, Tulsipur, Gainsari, Utraula, Balrampur, Shohratgarh, Kapilvastu, Bansi, Itwa, Domariyaganj, Harraiya, Kaptanganj, Rudhauli, Basti Sadar, Mahadewa, Menhdawal, Khalilabad, Dhanghata, Pharenda, Nautanwa, Siswa, Maharajganj, Paniyra, Caimpiyarganj, Pipraich, Gorakhpur Urban, Gorakhpur Rural, Sahajanwa, Khajani, Chauri-Chaura, Bansgaon, Chillupar, Khadda, Padrauna, Tamkuhi Raj, Fazilnagar, Kushinagar, Hata, Ramkola, Rudrapur, Pathardeva, Rampur Karkhana, Bhatpar Rani, Salempur, Barhaj, Belthara Road, Rasra, Sikandarpur, Phephna, Ballia Nagar, Bansdih and Bairiya.

- Polling for the seventh phase, which will be the last phase, will be held on March 7. The counting of votes will be done on March 10.

(With ANI inputs)