After three phases of elections in Uttar Pradesh, now everyone’s eyes are fixed on the fourth phase. Polling for 59 assembly seats in nine districts is to be held on February 23. For this, the election campaign will also stop today.
The fourth phase of voting will be held on February 23 in 59 seats in nine districts of Uttar Pradesh. Talking about 2017, 50 out of 59 seats went to BJP’s account. One seat was won by BJP’s alliance partner Apna Dal (Sonelal). The remaining two seats were won by the Congress, four by the Samajwadi Party. Bahujan Samaj Party also had two seats in its account. However, later one candidate each from SP, Congress and BSP joined the BJP. This time also he is contesting on BJP ticket.
Although all these seats are very important for every political party, but ten of these seats are such that everyone’s eyes will be on them. Out of the nine districts in which elections are to be held in the fourth phase, many districts were once Congress strongholds. In such a situation, the challenge will be before the Congress to regain its stronghold, the BJP to maintain the old rule, while the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party will have to save their credibility. A total of 624 candidates have claimed 59 seats this time. Of these, 27% i.e. 167 are tainted. 231 crorepatis have also entered the elections.
1. Hardoi : Nitin Agarwal, who won on Samajwadi Party ticket in 2017, is contesting from BJP this time. Nitin was made Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly by the Yogi government. Nitin’s father is Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Agarwal. Samajwadi Party has fielded Anil Verma and Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded Ashish Singh Somvanshi against Nitin.
2. Sarojini Nagar : Sarojini Nagar seat of Lucknow is the most talked about this time. From here the BJP has fielded Rajeshwar Singh, who was the Joint Director of ED. Rajeshwar has recently joined BJP by taking VRS. To give ticket to Rajeshwar Singh, BJP cut the ticket of minister Swati Singh in Yogi government. The Samajwadi Party has fielded Abhishek Mishra against Rajeshwar Singh. Abhishek has been a minister in the SP government. BSP has fielded Mohammad Jalees Khan and Congress has fielded Rudra Daman Singh.
3. Lucknow East : Yogi government’s strong minister Ashutosh Tandon is in the fray from Lucknow East seat of the capital Lucknow. Ashutosh is the son of Lalji Tandon, one of the big leaders of BJP. The Samajwadi Party has fielded Anurag Bhadauria against Ashutosh. Anurag is also the national spokesperson of the Samajwadi Party. BSP has fielded Ashish Kumar Sinha and Congress has fielded Manoj Tiwari. Last time this seat was won by Ashutosh Tandon.
4. Purva : The Purva seat of Unnao is in discussion. From here, Congress has given ticket to Urusa Imran Rana, daughter of famous poet Munawwar Rana. Against Urusa, BJP has given ticket to Anil Singh, SP has given ticket to Uday Raj and BSP has given ticket to Vinod Kumar. The Sadar seat of Unnao is also in discussion. From here, BJP has reposed confidence in sitting MLA Pankaj Gupta, while SP has fielded Abhinav Kumar and BSP has fielded Devendra Singh.
5. Lucknow Cantt : The Cantt assembly seat of Lucknow, the capital of the state, is also very much discussed. From here Yogi government minister Brijesh Pathak is in the fray this time. Brijesh had won the election from Lucknow Central last time. This time his seat has been changed by BJP. Against Brijesh, Samajwadi Party has fielded Surendra Singh Gandhi, BSP Anil Pandey and Congress Dilpreet Singh. In 2017 this seat was won by Dr. Rita Bahuguna Joshi for BJP. In 2019, Rita Joshi was elected Lok Sabha MP, after which Suresh Tiwari of BJP was elected MLA from here in the by-election.
6. Tidwari : Banda’s Tindwari seat is also in discussion this time. Brijesh Prajapati, who won the election on BJP ticket in 2017 from here, left the party along with Swami Prasad Maurya and joined the Samajwadi Party. SP has made Brijesh its candidate this time, while BJP has given Ramkesh Nishad a chance from here. Jairam Singh from BSP and Congress have given ticket to Adishakti.
7. Bindki : Bindki seat of Fatehpur is also a topic of discussion in the politics of UP. Jail Minister Jai Kumar Singh Jackie is contesting from here in the Yogi government. Jackie is in the fray on the ticket of BJP’s alliance partner Apna Dal (Sonelal). Against Jackie, Samajwadi Party has given ticket to Rameshchar Dayal, BSP Sushil Kumar and Congress Abhimanyu Singh. In 2017, this seat was in the account of BJP. Then Karan Singh Patel was elected MLA from here.
8. Hussainganj : This time BJP has given ticket to Minister of State for Agriculture Ranvendra Pratap Singh alias Dhunni Bhaiya in the Yogi government from Hussainganj seat of Fatehpur. Ranvendra has been elected MLA from this seat last time also. Samajwadi Party has given ticket to Usha Maurya, Bahujan Samaj Party has given ticket to Farid Ahmed and Congress has given ticket to Shivakant for the siege against Yogi’s minister.
9. Rae Bareli : This time BJP has fielded rebel Congress MLA Aditi Singh from Rae Bareli seat, which is called Congress stronghold. Aditi had won the election from here in 2017 on a Congress ticket. Against Aditi Singh, Samajwadi Party has given ticket to Ram Pratap Yadav, BSP to Mohammad Ashraf and Congress to Manish Chauhan.
10. Unchahar : Unchahar seat of Rae Bareli is also in the center of discussion. From here, the Bharatiya Janata Party has given ticket to its state general secretary Amarpal Maurya, while the Samajwadi Party has reposed confidence in its MLA Manoj Kumar Pandey, who won this seat in 2017. Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded Anjali Maurya and Congress has fielded Atul Singh from here.
Expansion
The fourth phase of voting will be held on February 23 in 59 seats in nine districts of Uttar Pradesh. Talking about 2017, 50 out of 59 seats went to BJP’s account. One seat was won by BJP’s alliance partner Apna Dal (Sonelal). The remaining two seats were won by the Congress, four by the Samajwadi Party. Bahujan Samaj Party also had two seats in its account. However, later one candidate each from SP, Congress and BSP joined the BJP. This time also he is contesting on BJP ticket.
Although all these seats are very important for every political party, but ten of these seats are such that everyone’s eyes will be on them. Out of the nine districts in which elections are to be held in the fourth phase, many districts were once Congress strongholds. In such a situation, the challenge will be before the Congress to regain its stronghold, the BJP to maintain the old rule, while the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party will have to save their credibility. A total of 624 candidates have claimed 59 seats this time. Of these, 27% i.e. 167 are tainted. 231 crorepatis have also entered the elections.