UP Polls Phase 5: Campaigning ends; challenge for SP to save fort

Lucknow: The campaigning for the fifth phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2017 ends on Saturday, with 607 candidates in fray for the 52 constituencies spread across 11 districts.

The districts, scheduled to go for polls on February 27, include Ambedkar Nagar, Sultanpur, Amethi, Balrampur, Gonda, Bahraich, Shravasti, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Faizabad and Sant Kabir Nagar.

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The fate of 607 candidates will be decided by 1.84 crore voters of the above mentioned districts. Where the state's ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) would be aiming to maintain their support base in these constituencies, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) would be willing to get some more seats from the regions.

The prestige of several big political leaders of Samajwadi Party would be at stake as ministers like Awadhesh Prasad, Ram Murti Verma, Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, Vinod Kumar Singh aka Pandit Singh and Tej Narayan Pandey are also in fray in the fifth phase of elections.

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In the 2012 UP Assembly elections, SP had won 37 out of the 51 seats while its alliance partner Congress had managed five seats. BJP and BSP and Peace Party had failed in these constituencies badly as they could only win five, three and two seats, respectively.

Muslims make up to around 40 per cent population of Balrampur, Bahraich and Shravasti districts, each. Hence, BSP has fielded 18 Muslim candidates, while SP has 10 such candidates in these districts.

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Although, the polling was scheduled to take place in 52 constituencies but, because of death of a candidate from Alapur seat of Ambedkar Nagar, the polling in that area has been postponed to March 8.

It may be mentioned here that in the last assembly elections, SP had managed to wipe out BJP from its stronghold Ayodhya district.

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