Friday, February 10, 2017

Festival of Democracy: UP goes to poll tomorrow

The poll pitch in Uttar Pradesh has reached crescendo and the India’s largest state is to witness first phase of polling across 73 assembly constituencies spanning 15 districts in Western UP tomorrow.

UP phase I poll bound districts are Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura, Hathras, Agra, Firozabad, Etah and Kasganj.

In this phase, 839 candidates are trying their luck at the hustings. Poll campaigning in these constituencies had culminated last evening, which wrapped up the whirlwind electioneering by top leaders of all political parties in fray, including BJP, BSP, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress.

BJP had swept poll during 2014 Lok Sabha election drawing from ‘Modi wave’. This time, BSP and SP-Congress alliance has made the contest triangular.

Muslims comprise a sizeable chunk of the Western UP population and their voting pattern would largely determine the poll outcome. Their consolidation in favour of either BSP or SP-Congress alliance would hit BJP and their division would on the other hand brighten BJP’s poll chances.

In their public meetings, both, BSP and SP-Congress have vociferously been claiming to champion issues of minorities and luring them to their fold.


However, the situation is more or less fluid and there are no clear winners and losers among parties as they stand today.

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