With less then 24 hours left for campaigning for the third phase to come to an end, all major parties have pushed their entire strength to woo the voters through promises and by highlighting failures of each other. Voting for the third phase will take place on Sunday.
This phase will see polling in 69 Assembly seats spread across 12 districts of central Uttar Pradesh, especially in Yadavland and two of the largest cities— lucknow and Kanpur.
Electioneering had reached its crescendo with major parties leaving nothing to chance and wooing voters to the hilt. The third phase will be a litmus test for the SP and also the Mulayam factor in the native regiuon of the Yadav clan.
Besides loan waiver to farmers, issues like law and order and development are the poll planks of all parties but other local issues too are being raked up.
The third phase will be important for all parties, particularly for the ruling SP, as they had won 55 of the total 69 in 2012 Assembly polls, followed by 6 by BSP, five by BJP and two by Congress candidates. One seat was also won by Independent.
In five districts of Etawah, Auriya, Barabanki, Mainpuri and Kannauj, covering 19 seats, SP did not allow other political parties to open their account last time. But this time, the SP might lose in this belt as it is faced with the stiff challenge to counter intra-party rebellion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the poll trail for the BJP by addressing two meetings at Kannauj on Wednesday and at Hardoi on Thursday - both in Reserved seats. Other BJP leaders and Union ministers have also been active in crissc rossing districts to address meetings. Union Home minister Rajnath Singh and his ministerial colleagues are addressing six election meetings on a daily basis.
BSP president Mayawati, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, and SP president Akhilesh Yadav have also been addressing meetings on a daily basis.
While Mayawati and Rahul Gandhi were doing two meetings everyday, Yadav is addressing six to eight meetings daily. He is also being assisted by his wife Dimple in the electioneering.
However, even after much publicity, neither Congress president Sonia Gandhi nor her daughter Priyanka Vadra have campaigned in the polls so far.
On the other hand, SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav has addressed two meetings for his brother Shivpal Singh Yadav in Jaswantnagar seat of Etawah and he also campaigned for his younger daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav in lucknow (Cantonment) seat of lucknow.
There are 821 candidates in the fray in the third phase, of whom around 14 per cent have criminal cases and 31 per cent are crorepatis (multi-millionaires). The highest number of 21 candidates are in the fray from Etawah seat, while the minimum of three candidates are from Haidergarh seat in Barabanki.
The highest number of VVIP seats in UP polls is being witnessed in the third phase. Almost all nine seats in lucknow are witnessing a crucial fight with close relatives of Chief Minister contesting in two seats.
All eyes would be on Jaswantnagar seat in Etawah where Shivpal Singh Yadav, estranged uncle of Akhilesh Yadav, is contesting for the fifth time.
Similarly, in lucknow (Cantonment) the CM’s sister-in-law Aparna Yadav and in Sarojninagar seat of lucknow, the CM’s cousin Anurag Yadav are in the fray. Anurag is pitted against BJP’s Swati Singh, who jumped into politics after her husband Dayashanker Singh was arrested for making unsavoury statement against Mayawati. Similarly, Aparna is contesting against sitting local MlA Rita Bahuguna Joshi of the BJP.
In Zaidpur seat of Barabanki, Tanuj Punia, son of Congress Rajya Sabha member Pl Punia, is trying his electoral luck for the first time. Nitin Agarwal, son of SP leader Naresh Agarwal, BSP turncoat Brijesh Pathak are also in the fray in this phase. Besides, there are several seats in Etawah, Kannauj, Kanpur, Barabanki and Hardoi where UP ministers and senior leaders of other parties are in the fray.
The districts going to polls in the third phase are Etawah, Mainpuri, Kannauj, Farrukahabad Farrukahbad, Hardoi, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auriyya, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur city, Unnao, lucknow, Barabanki and Sitapur for which 25,603 polling booths have been set up.
A total of 2.41 crore voters are expected to exercise their franchise in the third phase. Of these 1.31crore are male and 1.10 crore while 1,026 are third gender.
This phase would be held in the Assembly seats of Kaimganj (SC), Amritpur, Farrukhabad, Bhojpur, Sawayazpur, Sahabad, Hardoi, Gopamau (SC), Sandi (SC), Bilgram Mallanwan, Balamau (SC), Sandila, Chhibramau, Tirwa, Kannauj (SC), Mainpuri, Bhongaon, Kishni (SC), Karhal, Jaswantnagar, Etawah, Bharthana (SC), Bidhuna, Dibiyapur, Auraiya (SC), Rasulabad (SC), Akbarpur-Raniya, Sikandra, Bhognipur, Bilhaur (SC), Bithoor, Kalyanpur, Govindnagar, Sishamau, Arya Nagar, Kidwai Nagar, Kanpur Cantt, Maharajpur, Ghatampur (SC), Bangermau, Safipur (SC), Mohan (SC), Unnao, Bhagwantnagar, Purwa, Malihabad (SC), Bakshi Ka Talab, Sarojni Nagar, lucknow West, lucknow North, lucknow East, lucknow Central, lucknow Cantt, Mohanlalganj (SC), Kursi, Ram Nagar, Barabanki, Zaidpur (SC), Dariyabad, Rudauli, Maholi, Sitapur, Hargaon (SC), laharpur, Biswan, Sevata, Mohmoodabad, Sidhauli (SC) and Misrikh (SC).