Lucknow, May 7 (IANS): Polling for 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh began on Tuesday morning in the third phase of the parliamentary elections.
The constituencies where polling is being held include Sambhal, Hathras, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Badaun, Aonla, and Bareilly, spanning across 12 districts of the state.
Of the 10 seats that are voting on Tuesday, the BJP had won eight in 2019 -- Hathras, Agra, Firozabad, Fatehpur Sikri, Etah, Badaun, Bareilly and Aonla -- while Mainpuri and Sambhal went to the Samajwadi Party (SP).
This phase will be a test for the SP’s first family as well, with Dimple Yadav, Akshay Yadav and Aditya Yadav contesting Mainpuri, Firozabad and Budaun respectively.
In Mainpuri, an SP bastion that the party has never lost, sitting MP Dimple Yadav will take on Jaiveer Singh of the BJP.
In Firozabad, the BJP candidate Chandra Sen Jadon is contesting against Akshay Yadav and in Budaun, Aditya Yadav – son of Shivpal Yadav – is making his electoral debut against Durvijay Shakya of BJP.
The third phase unfolds with the emergence of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), prominently including Yadavs, Lodhs, and Kachhi/Shakya/Murao communities, exerting influence as decisive factors across various constituencies. Alongside, the enduring impact of Muslim and Jat demographics remains significant in select areas.
The third phase has seen some high-pitched campaigns by leaders of all parties.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath led the BJP’s campaign against, what they called, dynasty and appeasement politics of the Congress and the SP, and slammed the Opposition for "declining" the Ram temple invitation.
The SP, which has much at stake in phase three, pushed its caste census pitch and alleged that the BJP will end reservation and hence is seeking 400-plus seats in the Lok Sabha.
Several constituencies, including Sambhal, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Mainpuri, and Aonla, are witnessing a three-way battle between the NDA and INDIA alliances and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) while others like Hathras, Firozabad, Etah, and Budaun will see a two-way contest between the BJP and the SP.
Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said that Agra has the highest number of voters at 20,72,685, while Etah has the lowest with 17,524 registered voters in their respective Lok Sabha constituencies.
Bareilly tops the list with 13 candidates, whereas Firozabad has the fewest contenders with 7.
A total of 100 candidates are in the fray in 10 Lok Sabha constituencies, including eight women.
An adequate strength of paramilitary forces has been deployed to conduct the elections peacefully. The responsibility of security of the strong room has also been entrusted to paramilitary forces.
In addition to paramilitary forces/police forces, arrangements have also been made for air ambulances and helicopters for medical assistance in case of emergency.
Rinwa said, “Arrangements have been made for live webcasting at 50 per cent polling places (10208 polling places), which will be supervised at all three levels by the District Election Officer, Chief Electoral Officer, and Election Commission of India. Apart from this, there will also be arrangements for videography at 3503 polling places.”
In the third phase, a total of 370 model polling places, 79 all-women managed polling places, 39 all youth worker polling places, and 47 all disabled managed polling places have been created.”