Lok Sabha election 2019 phase 4: Uttar Pradesh votes today; SP-BSP, BJP, Congress to fight for 13 seats

A total of 13 parliamentary constituencies in the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh will go to polls in the fourth phase of 2019 Lok Sabha election today. In this politically sensitive state, as many as 152 candidates are contesting for 13 Lok Sabha seats in this fourth round of poll. The seats going to the polls in phase 4 are Shahjahanpur, Kheri, Hardoi, Misrikh, Unnao, Farrukhabad, Etawah, Kannauj, Kanpur, Akbarpur, Jalaun, Jhansi and Hamirpur. A total of 198 candidates had contested from these seats in the previous General Election.

From Dimple Yadav in Kannauj to Sakshi Maharaj in Unnao, all popular leaders of the region are in the fray for the upcoming elections. The other key candidates in the state include- Jitin Prasada in Dharuhera, Zafar Ali Naqvi (Lakhimpur Kheri), Congress’ Sri Prakash Jaiswal (Kanpur) and Salman Khurshid (Farrukhabad).

Dimple Yadav, wife of Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, is seeking third term from Kannauj seat. The Yadav has been holding Kannauj Lok sabha seat since 1998 when SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav won it for the first time and vacated it for his son Akhilesh, who won thrice creating a strong bond with the constituency.

Akhilesh’s goodwill ensured his wife’s victory in 2014 against the BJP candidate Subrat Pathak. Not taking any chances this time, the SP is making efforts to maximise the margin.

In Farrukhabad, Congress senior leader Salman Khurshid is trying to make a comeback after suffering a shock defeat in 2014. The seat was won by BJP’s Mukesh Rajput. After denying ticket to veteran leader Murli Manohar Joshi, the BJP faces tough challenge in Kanpur. Satyadev Pachauri, who is contesting in place of Joshi, is facing resistance from within the party. This has come as a breather for Congress’ Shri Prakash Jaiswal, who lost in 2014 despite his vote share growing.

In Kheri, the SP-BSP alliance has named Poorvi Verma who will face sitting BJP MP Ajay Kumar Mishra and Zafar Ali Naqvi of the Congress. As per the data, there are a total of 2.38 crore electors in these 13 seats including 1.29 crore males, 1.09 crore females and 1,230 third gender electors. A total of 27,513 polling stations have been set up for voting in this phase which will be held on 29th April, 2019.

Inputs from Business standard