The test of popularity: Five of the most furious contests in Assembly polls

On February 10 and 14, Uttar Pradesh will see polling in 113 Assembly constituencies (58 in the first phase and 55 in the second) of a total 403. Goa (40 seats) and Uttarakhand (70 seats) will also witness elections to all their Assembly constituencies on February 14. In some places, candidates have jumped ship and will now laud the very side they had been rubbishing over the past five years — for instance in Goa, 73 per cent of the candidates contested from a different party in the previous election. In a few crucial seats, new faces are in the