UP Assembly Polls: Volling underway for sixth phase

Polling is underway for sixth phase of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Voting, which began at 7 AM, will end at 6 PM. Voting is taking place for 57 assembly seats spread over 10 districts in this phase. These districts are Ballia, Balrampur, Siddharth Nagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Gorakhpur, and Deoria. A total of 676 candidates including 66 women are in the fray in this phase. The Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) is being used along with Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at every Polling Station. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath cast his vote at Primary School Gorakhnath Kanya Nagar Kshetra, in Gorakhpur, for the sixth phase. Over 1.5 lakh security personnel will be deployed in this phase covering 57 assembly seats in 10 districts, where 2.1 crore people are eligible to vote.

Among the 676 candidates in the fray this time are Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur Urban fighting his first assembly polls, state Congress president Lallu from Tamkuhi Raj seat and Swami Prasad Maurya, who quit as BJP minister to join the Samajwadi Party, from Fazilnagar. The Samajwadi Party has pitted the wife of late Upendra Dutt Shukla, a former BJP leader, against Adityanath. Azad Samaj Party founder Chandrashekhar Azad is also a contesting against the chief minister. Leader of Opposition in the outgoing assembly and Samajwadi Party leader Ram Govind Chaudhary is contesting from Bansdih. In view of the prevailing Corona pandemic, Election Commission has laid focus on COVID-safe elections with maximum participation. The Commission has decided to allow maximum of 1,250 electors in a Polling Station instead of earlier stipulation of 1,500 electors.