UP Assembly elections 2022: Final phase of polling underway
What's the story
Voting for the seventh and final phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections 2022 began at 7 am on Monday.
In this phase, 54 seats across nine districts are going to the polls.
These districts include Azamgarh, Mau, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Bhadohi, and Sonbhadra.
Around 2.06 crore eligible voters will decide the fate of 613 candidates.
Context
Why does this story matter?
This will mark the end of the month-long polling exercise, which began on February 10.
This also concludes the election season with assembly elections in UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur, and Goa all wrapped up.
An hour after the polling concludes at 6 pm on Monday, the exit poll predictions will be allowed to be telecast on television.
Constituencies
Key constituencies in this phase
In this final phase, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliamentary constituency Varanasi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's parliamentary constituency Azamgarh are also going for polls.
Some key constituencies include Azamgarh, Mau, Zahoorabad, Mohammadabad, Varanasi North, Varanasi South, Varanasi Cantt, and Gyanpur.
Notably, these constituencies were once considered a stronghold of SP. However, the region saw BJP making inroads in 2017 by winning 29 seats.
Candidates
Candidates to watch for in this phase
One of the most-watched candidates in this phase is former minister Om Prakash Rajbhar of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party.
Rajbhar is contesting from the Zahoorabad seat.
Other prominent candidates include ministers Anil Rajbhar, Ravindra Jaiswal, Neelkanth Tiwari, and Rama Shankar Singh Patel.
Former minister Dara Singh Chauhan and Abbas Ansari, son of mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, are also in the fray in this phase.
Quote
Make new record of voting, urges Modi
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged voters to vote with full enthusiasm. "I request all the voters to participate in the seventh and last phase of the assembly elections with full enthusiasm and create a new voting record," he tweeted.
Yogi
Vote for victory of nationalism, development, good governance: Yogi
Taking to Twitter, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath appealed to the voters to vote for the "victory of nationalism, development and good governance."
"Your one vote will save your state from mafias, rioters, and extreme familyists," Yogi added.
Separately, Yogi's main challenger Akhilesh Yadav also urged people to vote in large numbers, saying, "the higher the vote, the stronger the democracy."