Campaign ends for first phase of voting in eight LS seats in UP

Lucknow, Apr 17 (PTI) Electioneering for the first phase of polling on April 19 in Uttar Pradesh ended Wednesday evening with the candidates wrapping up their campaigns for eight parliamentary seats.
     On the last day of the campaign, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav -- both partners in opposition's INDIA bloc -- addressed rallies in Saharanpur and Moradabad.
     The seats going to polls in the first phase on Friday are Saharanpur, Bijnor, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur, and Pilibhit in the western region of the state.
     Altogether, Uttar Pradesh has 80 parliamentary constituencies and polling will take place in all seven phases of the Lok Sabha election.
     The stage is set for a three-cornered contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA, Samajwadi Party, and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
     Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said no campaign related activities by candidates is allowed in these eight constituencies now.
     The presence of workers of all political parties has also been restricted, he said.
     A total of 80 candidates, 73 men and seven women, are in the fray from different parties in this phase of the polling.
     According to the Election Commission, a total of 1.43 crore people are eligible to cast their votes in the first phase. Of them, 76.23 lakh are male, 67.14 lakh female, and 824 are transgender persons.
     Twelve candidates are in the fray from Moradabad, 14 from Kairana, 11 each from Muzaffarnagar and Bijnor, 10 each from Saharanpur and Pilibhit, and six candidates each from Nagina and Rampur.
     The BJP has joined hands with the RLD and the SP has allied with the Congress for the Parliamentary election. The BSP has decided to go solo.
     Making her first presence in the state in these elections, Congress general secretary and star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi held a roadshow in Saharanpur on Wednesday, garnering support for Imran Masood, who is in the fray as the candidate of the INDIA bloc.
     Of the eight seats in the 2019 elections, BJP had bagged Muzaffarnagar, Kairana and Pilibhit, the SP Moradabad and Rampur, and the BSP Saharanpur, Nagina, and Bijnor.
     Later, in a by-election, BJP wrested back Rampur.
     In 2019, the Samajwadi Party contested the election in alliance with the BSP.
     Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already addressed rallies in Meerut and Pilibhit, while UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has addressed more than 20 rallies in these seats.
     BSP President Mayawati and her nephew Akash Anand have addressed several election meetings canvassing for party candidates.
     Akhilesh Yadav addressed rallies in Pilibhit, Bijor, Muzaffarnagar, Moradabad, and Nagina.
     Prominent candidates in this phase are Jitin Prasada from Pilibhit, Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan from Muzaffarnagar, and Azad Samaj Party chief Chandra Shekhar Azad from Nagina.
     SP's Muslim face in Rampur, Azam Khan is conspicuous by his absence in the constituency as he is currently lodged in jail in Sitapur.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)