The fourth phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections begins today as voting for 59 assembly constituencies spread in nine districts of Uttar Pradesh began at 7 am this morning. The campaigning for this phase ended on Monday as sparring among political rivals intensified during the last-minute canvassing. The fourth phase of polling will decide the fate of 624 candidates in 59 Assembly segments in the districts of Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Hardoi, Unnao, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Banda and Fatehpur.
Of the 59 seats, the BJP had won 51 in the 2017 Assembly elections, four had gone to the Samajwadi Party, and three to the Bahujan Samaj Party. The BJP's ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) had bagged one seat. Lakhimpur, which had hogged national news headlines after eight people, including four farmers, were killed in violence on October 3 will go to the polls in the fourth phase.
Prominent candidates in this phase
Among the prominent candidates in this phase is Uttar Pradesh Law Minister Brijesh Pathak who is facing Samajwadi party candidate and two-time corporator Surendra Singh Gandhi in the Lucknow Cantonment seat. Pathak had won the Lucknow Central seat in 2017. Another minister Ashutosh Tandon is in the fray from the Lucknow East seat and is being challenged by SP's national spokesperson Anurag Bhadauria.
The Sarojini Nagar Assembly segment will witness a battle between former ED officer Rajeshwar Singh fielded by the BJP and Abhishek Mishra who had been a minister in the Samajwadi Party government. Deputy Speaker of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly Nitin Agarwal, who had crossed over to the BJP from the Samajwadi Party, will face the electoral test in this phase.
Rae Bareli considered a Congress bastion will also go to the polls in this phase, with BJP's Aditi Singh in the fray from Rae Bareli. She was earlier with the Congress.
Meanwhile, voting for the remaining three phases of the seven-phase UP elections will take place on February 27, March 3, and 7. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.
(With inputs from agencies)
