Lucknow. The administration has completed preparations for the first phase of voting to be held on April 19 for eight Lok Sabha seats in Western Uttar Pradesh. Voters are also ready to use their franchise on these seats. The seats for which voting is to be held on April 19 in the first phase include Saharanpur, Bijnor, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit Lok Sabha seats in the western region of the state. All the parties used their full strength in the election campaign on these seats. There is a triangular contest on almost all seats between the BJP-led NDA, the opposition alliance (INDIA) and the BSP.
Voting is to be held at 14,849 polling places in 7,689 polling stations of eight Lok Sabha constituencies located in nine districts of the state, Saharanpur, Shamli, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Pilibhit.
Total 1.44 crore voters in first phase in UP
UP Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said that voting will be held from 7 am to 6 pm. A total of 1.44 crore voters will be able to exercise their franchise in the first phase. 7693 polling centers and 14845 ‘polling booths’ have been created for voting. Of them, 3571 have been kept in sensitive category. Out of 1.44 crore voters, 76.23 lakh are men, 67.14 lakh are women and 824 are from transgender category. A total of 80 candidates are in the fray in eight Lok Sabha constituencies.
Tight security arrangements in all nine districts
According to the information received from the office of the Director General of Police, arrangements have been made for 6018 inspectors/sub-inspectors, 35750 head constables/constables, 24992 home guards, 60 companies of PAC force and 220 companies of paramilitary forces to conduct the first phase of voting safely. Apart from this, 6764 village watchmen and 155 PRD personnel have also been deployed. Constant vigilance and investigation is being done by forming 348 flying squad teams, 459 static surveillance teams and 55 QRT teams in all the nine districts.
Total 80 candidates in the fray
A total of 80 candidates from different parties are in the fray in this phase of elections, of which 73 are men and seven are women. There are 12 candidates in the fray from Moradabad, 14 from Kairana, 11 each from Muzaffarnagar and Bijnor, 10 each from Saharanpur and Pilibhit, six each from Nagina and Rampur. According to the Election Commission, a total of 1.43 crore voters will be able to exercise their franchise in the first phase.
In the Lok Sabha elections, BJP has joined hands with RLD and SP with Congress in Western Uttar Pradesh. BSP has decided to contest the elections alone. Employment, education and development are the major issues for voters in these constituencies. BJP has campaigned keeping development and construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya at the center, while opposition leaders have raised the issues of agriculture bill and employment in the area.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed rallies in Meerut and Pilibhit for the first phase of elections. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has addressed more than 20 rallies on these seats. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda also addressed rallies in several Lok Sabha constituencies going to polls in the first phase. Congress general secretary and star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi, making her first appearance in the state in these elections, held a road show in Saharanpur in favor of party candidate Imran Masood. Masood is in the fray as a candidate of the opposition alliance.
BSP president Mayawati and her nephew Akash Anand also addressed election meetings in support of their party’s candidates. SP President Akhilesh Yadav addressed rallies in Pilibhit, Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar, Moradabad and Nagina. Prominent candidates in this phase include Jitin Prasad from Pilibhit, Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan from Muzaffarnagar and Azad Samaj Party chief Chandrashekhar Azad from Nagina. In Rampur, the absence of SP’s Muslim face Azam Khan is visible in the constituency. Azam is currently lodged in Sitapur jail.
Out of the eight seats where voting is going on in the first phase, in the 2019 elections, BJP won three (Muzaffarnagar, Kairana and Pilibhit), SP won two (Moradabad and Rampur) and BSP won three (Saharanpur, Nagina and Bijnor). Had registered victory. In the subsequent by-election, BJP won the Rampur seat.
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Tags: Loksabha Election 2024, Loksabha Elections, Lucknow news, UP news
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 18, 2024, 22:37 IST