Uttar Pradesh elections phase 5: Voting underway in 61 seats
What's the story
Voting in 61 seats in the fifth phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections began at 7:00 am on Sunday.
The state will witness a multi-cornered contest between BJP, SP, Congress, and BSP.
The prominent faces in this phase include Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, UP cabinet ministers Sidharth Nath Singh and Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi, and Congress legislative party leader Aradhana Mishra Mona.
Voters
Over 2 crore voters in UP elections phase 5
As many as 2.24 crore voters of Uttar Pradesh will decide the fate of 692 candidates in 61 constituencies spread across 12 districts of the state.
Out of the 61 seats of the seven-phased polls, 58 are in eastern UP, also known as Purvanchal.
A total of 14,026 polling stations and 25,974 polling booths have been set up in 204 police station areas.
Districts
Districts to look out for
Among the key districts to look out for in the fifth phase of UP elections 2022 are Ayodhya, the epicenter of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple movement, and Amethi and Raebareli, once considered Congress bastions.
Besides, voters from districts such as Sultanpur, Chitrakoot, Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Prayagraj, Barabanki, Bahraich, Shravasti, and Gonda will exercise their right to vote.
Quote
PM Modi urges people to vote
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and urged people to vote. "Today is the fifth phase of the celebration of democracy in Uttar Pradesh. I request all the voters to exercise their franchise and cast their valuable vote," he tweeted.
Counting
Counting of votes on March 10
The voting in the remaining two phases of the seven-phase UP elections will be conducted on March 3 and March 7.
A total of 57 constituencies will go to vote in the sixth phase and the remaining 54 seats in the seventh and final phase.
The results for the elections will be declared on March 10.