Stage set for bypolls: Four-cornered contest on cards

The Election Commission has made all arrangements for the bypolls to 11 assembly seats in UP on Monday.

It is a four-cornered contest with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress fielding candidates on all seats.

The fate of 109 candidates will be decided on Monday. The maximum (13) candidates are contesting on Lucknow Cantonment and Jalalpur seats. Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm.

Chief electoral officer, Ajay Kumar Shukla, said the Election Commission has made arrangements for holding free and fair polling.

Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMF) and civil police have been deployed to maintain law and order during the polling. The EC has also deputed 11 general observers, 11 expenditure observers, 337 sector magistrates, 60 zonal magistrates, 471 static magistrates and 520 micro observers to monitor polling, he said.

He said 41.908 lakh voters (22.13 lakh male, 18.94 lakh female and 138 third gender) will exercise their right to franchise.

As many as 5,435 electronic voting machines (EVM) and 5,888 VVPAT machines will be used in polling. The Election Commission has declared 429 booths sensitive – polling at these booths will be monitored through webcasting, he said.

The bypoll will be held in Gangoh, Rampur, Iglas, Lucknow Cantonment, Govind Nagar, Manikpur, Pratapgarh, Zaidpur, Jalalpur, Balha and Ghosi seats. Ten seats were vacated after the election of sitting MLAs in the Lok Sabha election. Whereas Ghosi seat was vacated after sitting BJP MLA Phagu Chauhan was appointed Governor of Bihar.

All eyes are on Rampur seat from where Tazeen Fatima, wife of senior SP leader Azam Khan, is contesting on SP ticket. The other interesting contest is in Jalalpur seat in Ambedkar Nagar where Chaya Verma, daughter of BSP legislature party leader Lalji Verma is in fray.

In Lucknow Cantonment seat, the prestige of BJP is at stake. The party has fielded senior leader Suresh Tiwari.

The bypoll is being seen as a mini assembly election. After sweeping the Lok Sabha election, the BJP hopes to strengthen its hold in state politics. For chief minister Yogi Adityanath, the results will be a referendum on his two-and-a-half-year-old government. He had led the party campaign, addressing rallies in all assembly segments.

The SP, BSP and Congress have also mobilised their resources to make a comeback in state politics after the drubbing in Lok Sabha elections.

 

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