Uttar Pradesh will go to polls in seven phases as in 2017 and with the beginning of polling phases from the western part of the state to the eastern end, but the Election Commission of India (ECI) has changed the phases to ensure uniformity. Number of seats in each of the seven phases.
In the 2017 assembly elections in UP, the number of seats to vote in each phase varied widely, from 73 in the first phase to 40 in the last phase. In the current election schedule, the limit has been narrowed to a maximum of 61 seats in the fifth phase, with a minimum of 54 seats in the last phase. There are total 403 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
A government functionary said this would be helpful in times of pandemic as the same number of seats would go to polls in each phase. This is expected to be logistically easier for parties that can devote equal resources to each stage. “In 2017, there were 52 per cent seats in the first three phases. This time, 42 per cent seats will be covered in the first three phases, making it a more equitable election in 7 phases,” a political leader from UP told News18.
However this re-jig can offer interesting formulations in seven different stages. For example, four districts – Hathras, Firozabad, Etah and Kasganj – which went to polls in the first phase in 2017, will now go to the polls in the third phase, with the remaining districts of Yadav strongholds going to polls. Pilibhit and Kheri districts – which are in focus in the Lakhimpur Kheri farmer case – will now go to polls in Phase 4 instead of Phase 2 like in the 2017 elections.
Hardoi, Unnao, Lucknow and Sitapur districts went to the polls in the third phase in 2017 but will go to polls in phase 4 last time, while Barabanki will go to polls later in phase 5. A dozen districts that had voted in Phase 4 last time will also turn around this time. With eight of these polling in Phase 3 and remaining four in Phase 5. Mau and Azamgarh districts, which are strongholds of the Samajwadi Party, will vote in the last phase instead of Phase 6.
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