UP Election last phase: All eyes on Varanasi, PM Modi to hold roadshows enormously

Varanasi: As the high-octane Uttar Pradesh polls enter the last leg, all eyes are on the electoral battle in and around Varanasi which will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi and prominent leaders from opposition parties leading their campaigns. Modi, who has been criss-crossing the state all along in the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh elections, will lead the poll blitzkrieg in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi for two days on March 4 and 5.

Polling for the seventh phase

Voting for the seventh and final round will be held on March 7 for Varanasi and its eight adjoining districts. Varanasi unit president of the BJP, Vidyasagar Rai, said the prime minister will hold a roadshow in different localities of Varanasi and on March 5, will address a rally in Khajuri village of the district.

The roadshow will be held for three assembly constituencies of Cantt, Varanasi North and Varanasi South. Modi is also scheduled to visit the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Prominent leaders of opposition parties are also reaching the pilgrim city, which would be the nerve centre of the grand finale.

Locked in a fierce poll battle with the Samajwadi Party in particular, winning a majority of seats out of the 54 constituencies in the end round, is a must for the BJP to continue its sway in the 2024 general election.

Riding on the "Modi wave", the BJP-led coalition had won in all the eight assembly segments of Varanasi in 2017 and so was the case in the majority of the seats in the neighbouring districts.

However, changing caste equation and aggressive mobilisation of Muslims in particular by the Samajwadi Party show the outcome would not be one-sided as was the case last time. BJP's allies Apna Dal (Sonelal) and Nishad Party and Akhilesh Yadav's new friends Apna Dal (K), Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) of Om Prakash Rajbhar and others would have to play an important role to tilt the balance in favour of their groupings.

Besides Varanasi, the last round of polling would also cover Azamgarh and Vindhyachal regions. The 54 seats going to polls on March 7 are in Azamgarh, Mau, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Bhadohi and Sonbhadra. SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav is also expected to attend a rally in Malhani assembly constituency in neighbouring Jaunpur district during the day in favour of Lucky Yadav, son of his long-time associate and former minister Parasnath Yadav.

Polling for the seventh phase, which will be the last phase, will be held on March 7. The counting of votes will be done on March 10.