Fourth phase of Assembly election in UP has started today for 56 assembly seats spread over 11 districts. Three remaining phases of polling will be held on February 23, 28 and March 3.
The major fact in this polling is that today people cast their votes in State capital Lucknow and Gandhi bastion of Rae Bareli, which is Congress President Sonia Gandhi‘s constituency.
More than 1.74 crore voters will seal the fate of 967 candidates by casting their votes today. Amongst them three are ministers, 32 sitting MLAs and 12 former ministers.
At this time, the competition is among ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Congress, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party which has been ruling in Lucknow since 1991.
The rival contest is between UP Congress Committee (UPCC) chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi who is contesting against BJP national vice-president Kalraj Mishra.
Expect Lucknow, the polling has performed in Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Unnao, CSM Nagar, Kannauj, Banda, Chitrakoot, Fatehpur and Pratapgarh.
Several party leaders are re-contesting from their seats. Congress leader Pramod Tiwari from Pratapgarh and BSP MLA Nitin Agarwal from Hardoi Sadar are one of them.
Like other phases, fourth phase of Assembly election in UP also includes 103 criminal case recorded candidates along with 139 ‘crorepatis’.
Veer Singh, son of slain dacoit Daddua, is contesting for Kirvi seat in Chitrakoot as SP nominee.
There are some independent candidates from Rae Bareli Sadar seat like Akhilesh Singh would be test their luck in contesting. He is contesting as Peace Party candidate, whereas heavyweight and sitting MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya is from Kunda seat.
But overall, this phase is crucial for Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi because two seats of his constituency of Amethi are also going to polls today. In this polling the Law Minister Salman Khurshid’s wife Louise Khurshid will also test her luck by contesting from Farrukhabad.
