Uttar Pradesh is all set to enter the first phase of assembly elections on February 10, which would continue till March 7 in a total of seven phases. With a total of 403 constituencies, the state is the biggest battleground out of the five total states which would also enter the polls.
Currently Uttar Pradesh governed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the state will see the polls commence on Thursday, wherein people in 11 districts would cast their vote for 58 constituencies.
The 11 districts where the elections are being held in the first phase are Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Shamli, Hapur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Aligarh, Mathura and Agra.
It is worth noting that the first phase of the UP Vidhan Sabha election 2022 mainly covers the western side of the state, which is believed to be dominated by the Jat community.
While the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are the front runners to form the government again, the Samajwadi Party (SP), in coalition with Rashtriya Lok Dal, are seen as its biggest competitor.
The Indian National Congress, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Asaduddin Owaisi’s AlMIM are also eyeing a fair share of seats.
The next phases of elections have been scheduled for February 14, 20, 23, 27, March 3 and 7, respectively, and the counting of votes and declaration of results is scheduled to happen on March 10.
The ministers whose fate will be decided on February 10 include Anil Sharma, Atul Garg, Chaudhary Laxmi Narain, Dinesh Khatik, Dr GS Dharmesh, Kapil Dev Agarwal, Shrikant Sharma and Sandeep Singh.
• First phase: February 10, 58 constituencies
• Second phase: February 14, 55 constituencies
• Third phase: February 20, 59 constituencies
• Fourth phase: February 23, 60 constituencies
• Fifth phase: February 27, 60 constituencies
• Sixth phase: March 3, 57 constituencies
• Seventh phase: March 7, 54 constituencies