As many as 627 candidates are in the fray in this phase, in which over 2.15 crore people are eligible to vote.
Voting for 59 assembly constituencies spread across 16 districts of Uttar Pradesh will take place on Sunday in the third phase of the polls. Campaigning for the third phase of the state elections ended on Friday, with senior leaders of the parties making a final effort to woo voters.
As many as 627 candidates are in the fray in this phase, in which over 2.15 crore people are eligible to vote. Districts where polling will be held are Hathras, Firozabad, Etah, Kasganj, Mainpuri, Farrukhabad, Kannauj, Etawah, Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar, Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Hamirpur and Mahoba. The Karhal assembly seat, from where Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is contesting, will also go to the polls in the third phase on Sunday. The BJP has fielded Union minister S P Singh Baghel from the seat. Polling on Sunday will also seal the fate of the Samajwadi Party chief's uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav, who is contesting from his traditional Jaswantnagar seat.
Before the campaigning ended for the third phase on Friday, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra undertook a door-to-door march in Kanpur, Kalpi, Jalaun and Hamirpur, while BSP chief Mayawati addressed election meetings in Jalaun and Auraiya.
Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav sought votes for his son Akhilesh Yadav in Karhal. The BJP had approached the Election Commission seeking deployment of paramilitary forces at all booths in Karhal. Among the prominent faces in the fray in this phase are BJP's Satish Mahana (Maharajpur in Kanpur) and Ramvir Upadhaya (Sadabad in Hathras) and Louise Khurshid, who is contesting on the Congress’ ticket from Farrukhabad Sadar. Louise Khurshid is the wife of senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid.
Former IPS officer Asim Arun is contesting from Kannauj Sadar on the BJP ticket, while Uttar Pradesh minister Ramnaresh Agnihotri is also in the fray in this phase. In the 2017 elections, the BJP had won 49 of the 59 seats while the SP had settled for nine. The Congress had got one seat, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) drew a blank. Polling will begin at 7 am on Sunday and continue till 6 pm.
With PTI Inputs