Campaigning ends for sixth phase of UP election

Campaigning for the sixth phase of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh ended on Thursday. Voting for 49 seats spread across seven districts will be held on Saturday.

The voting will take place in Mau, Ballia, Azamgarh, Deoria, Kushinagar, Maharajganj and Gorakhpur districts in the Poorvanchal region.

Nearly 1.72 crore people will be eligible to vote on Saturday with 635 candidates in the fray.

The maximum number of 127 candidates are in Gorakhpur's nine seats. There are 175 independent candidates in all.

On Thursday, the last day of campaigning, all political parties pulled out all stops to woo voters.

While Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati addressed rallies, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah took out a road show in Gorakhpur.

All eyes are on Mau and Azamgarh.

While Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav is the Lok Sabha member from Azamgarh, Mau is witnessing a keen contest as mafia don Mukhtaar Ansari is contesting on BSP ticket.

The staggered election in Uttar Pradesh began on February 11 and the last and seventh round will take place on March 8.

The results of the polling in Uttar Pradesh as well as Goa, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur will be known on March 11.

--IANS

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