Lucknow:

Voters in eight Lok Sabha constituencies in western Uttar Pradesh’s Jat and cane belts will exercise their constitutional rights as voting for the first phase of the seven-phase assembly elections begins tomorrow.

The seats that went to polls on Friday include Saharanpur, Binol, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Nagina (reserved for scheduled castes), Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit.

These seats are located in nine districts of western Uttar Pradesh.

The first phase of voting ended on Wednesday evening. Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said candidates are currently not allowed to carry out any campaign-related activities in the eight constituencies and final preparations for the polls are underway.

A triangular public opinion contest is about to take place between the National Democratic Alliance led by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, the Samajwadi Party and the Samajwadi Party (BSP).

Employment, education and development are top issues for voters in these constituencies. While the BJP touted development and the Rama temple in Ayodhya, opposition leaders raised the issue of farm bills and unemployment in the region.

According to poll officials, the presence of workers from all political parties in these constituencies has been restricted as the campaign winds down.

“Flying squads, revenue squads, static surveillance teams and district control rooms are very active in these constituencies,” a police officer said.

A total of 14,849 polling stations and 7,689 voting centers were set up in the first phase of voting.

According to information provided by the Uttar Pradesh Police Headquarters, there are 6,018 inspectors and sub-inspectors, 35,750 constables and 24,992 home guards, along with 60 companies of the Provincial Armed Police Force (PAC) and 220 of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF). A company. Deployed.

A total of 80 candidates (73 men and 7 women) are contesting in the first phase of voting.

According to the Electoral Commission (EC), 1.43 billion people are eligible to vote in the first phase. Among them, there are 7.623 million men, 6.714 million women, and 824 transgender people. According to data compiled by political parties, Muslim voters make up 35% to 50% of voters in these districts.

12 candidates from Moradabad, 14 candidates from Kairana, 11 candidates each from Muzaffarnagar and Binol, 11 candidates each from Saharanpur and Pilibhit 10 candidates, 6 each from Nagina and Rampur.

The Bharatiya Janata Party joined hands with the RLD and the Samajwadi Party formed an alliance with the Congress for the elections, while the BJP decided to go it alone.

Prime Minister Naredra Modi launched the poll campaign on March 31 with a massive rally in the district. Prime Minister Modi held his second rally in Pilibhit on April 9, where the BJP fielded Jitin Prasada, ignoring two-time MP Varun. Varun). Gandhi.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed more than 20 rallies in the first phase of polling constituencies.

Socialist Party president and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in Pilibhit, Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar, Moradabad ) and Nagina, while former chief minister Mayawati and her nephew Akash Anand have also spoken at rallies Speech at the election meeting.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra held a roadshow in Saharanpur on Wednesday to drum up support for Indian opposition candidate Imran Masood.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won Muzaffarnagar, Kairana and Pilibhit, the Samajwadi Party won in Moradabad and Rampur, and the BJP won in Saharanpur, Nagina and Binol won.

Later, the BJP recaptured Rampur in a by-election.

Prominent candidates in this phase include Prasada from Pilibhit, Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan from Muzaffarnagar and Azad Samaj Party chief Chandra Shekhar Azad from Nagina.

Azam Khan, the Muslim face of Rampur’s Samajwadi Party, is conspicuous by his absence from the constituency as he is lodged in a jail in Sitapur.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)