The stage is set for the second phase of polling to Urban local Bodies in 25 districts on Sunday. A total of 1.29 crore voters will exercise their franchise at 13,777 booths for six municipal corporations, 51 municipalities and 132 nagar panchayats covering 3601 wards of 189 local bodies and voting would be done from 7.30 am to 5 pm.
More than 80,000 security personnel, including 40 companies of central paramilitary forces and 65 companies of PAC have been deployed for ensuirng law and order. Besides, more than 80 drone cameras in cities including 30 in lucknow to will be pressed into service to preempt exigency. On directions of State Election Commission liquor vends will remain close till the end of polling on Sunday.
The districts going to polls in the second phase on November 26 are Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Amroha, Rampur, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Aligarh, Mathura, Mainpuri, Farrukhabad, Etawah, lalitpur, Banda, Allahabad, lucknow, Sultanpur, Ambedkarnagar, Bahraich, Shravasti, Sant Kabirnagar, Deoria, Ballia, Varanasi and Bhadoi.
The stakes are high for the BJP and the Samajwadi Party as votingwill be done in Varanasi, lucknow, Allahabad, Aligarh, and Ghaziabad. While Varanasi is the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s lok Sabha constituency, lucknow is the constituency of Union Home minister Rajnath Singh, Ghaziabad that of Union minister of state General VK Singh and Aligarh is the home town of former BJP chief minister Kalyan Singh. Besides, cabinet minister Nand Gopal Gupta’s wife is vying for the Myoral post from Allahabad. Rajnath Singh will be present in lucknow to cast his vote on Sunday. The traditional bastion of Samajwadi Party – Etawah, Mainpuri, Aurriya and Rampur also go to polls on Sunday.
State Election Commissioner SK Agarwal said on Saturday that polling parties have started reaching allotted polling booths. Around webcasting will be done at 10 per cent of booths, others will have CCTV and video recording of the polling process.
There are 83 candidates in the fray, including 42 women, for six Mayoral posts besides 638 candidates for chairperson’s post in 51 municipalities and 1,387 candidates for the post of chairpersons of nagar panchayats.
The third phase of elections would be held on November 29. Counting of votes for all the three phases would be done on December 1 and results are expected to be declared the same day.