Campaigning for the fourth phase of UP Assembly elections to he held on February 23 will end on Tuesday. The election will be held in 53 Assembly segments across 12 districts of the Bundelkhand region. Around 1.84 crore voters are expected to exercise their franchise at 19,487 polling booths.
This phase will see crucial contests at Rae Bareli -Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s lok Sabha constituency, Allahabad, Pratapgarh and Fatehpur.
The nascent SP-Congress alliance will again put to test in this phase too. The leaders of all parties including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress poster girl Priyanka Gandhi have been busy campaigniung for this phase.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed an election meeting at Fatehpur and followeed it up by addressing two rallies at Orai and Phoolpur ( Allahabad) on Monday.
Meanwhile on Sunday, SP-Congress alliance pioneers - Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi addressed a joint election meeting in Jhansi and were likely to address more such meetings in Allahabad on Tuesday. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also addressed two poll meetings with her brother at Rae Bareli.
BSP president Mayawati has also addressed six election meetings for this phase of polls.
The prominent candidates in the fray are Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya as Independent candidate from Kunda (Pratapgarh), Congress leader Pramod Tiwari’s daughter Aradhana Mishra from Rampur Khas (Pratapgarh), BSP legislature party leader Gaya Charan Dinker from Naraini seat of Banda, cabinet minister Manoj Pandey from Unchahar seat at Rae Bareli, Congress candidate Aditi Singh, daughter of don-turn-poilitico Akhilesh Singh from Rae Bareli ( Sadar) seat and BJP national spokesperson Sidharthnath Singh from Allahabad (West).
In 2012 Assembly poll, the tally of different political parties in this region was Samajwadi Party - 24, Bahujan Samaj Party- 15, Bhartiya Janata Party - 5, Congress - 6 and Others -3.
Of the total seats going to poll in this phase, 19 are in Bundelkhand region where the BSP and SP had shared equal number of 7 seats each in 2012 elections while Congress bagged 4 and the BJP only one.
The 12 districts going to polls in this phase are Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Allahabad, Jalaon, Jhansi, lalitpur, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Banda, Fatehpur, Rae Bareli and Chitrakoot.
Polling would be held in Assembly segments of Rampur Khas, Babaganj (SC), Kunda, Vishwanath Ganj, Pratapgarh, Patti, Raniganj, Sirathu, Manjhanpur (SC), Chail, Phaphamau, Soraon (SC), Phulpur, Pratappur, Handia, Meja, Karachhanna, Allahabad West, Allahabad North, Allahabad South, Bara (SC), Koraon (SC), Madhaugarh, Kalpi, Orai (SC), Babina, Jhansi Nagar, Mauranipur (SC), Garautha, lalitpur, Mehroni (SC), Mahoba, Charkhari, Hamirpur, Rath (SC), Tindwari, Baberu, Naraini (SC), Banda, Chitrakoot, Manikpur, Jahanabad, Bindki, Fatehpur, Ayah Shah, Husainganj, Khaga (SC), Bachhrawan (SC), Harchandpur, Rae Bareli, Salon (SC), Sareni, Unchahar.