Polling begins for Phase 2 of UP election, 586 candidates in fray

Fifty-five seats in nine districts, including some in Rohilkhand, will vote on Monday in the second phase of Uttar Pradesh election, which will see Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan and Finance Minister Suresh Khanna try their luck.

As many as 586 candidates are in the fray in this phase with the seats spread across Saharanpur, Bijnor, Moradabad, Sambhal, Rampur, Amroha, Budaun, Bareilly and Shahjahanpur.

Polling will be held on Monday from 7 am to 6 pm.

Of the 55 seats going to polls, the BJP had won 38 in 2017, while the Samajwadi Party had bagged 15 and the Congress two. The SP and the Congress had contested the last election in an alliance.

Of the 15 seats won by the SP, Muslim candidates had emerged victorious in 10.

The areas in this phase have a sizeable Muslim population influenced by religious leaders of the Barelvi and Deoband sects. These areas are considered to be the strongholds of the SP.

The prominent faces in the fray include Dharam Singh Saini, a Yogi Adityanath government minister who switched to the SP after the polls.

Khan has been fielded from his stronghold Rampur seat, Khanna from Shahjahanpur, while Saini is trying his luck from the Nakud.

Khan’s son Abdullah Azam has been fielded from the Swar seat. He has been pitted against Haider Ali Khan, the heir of another political family, the nawabs of Rampur, who is trying his luck on the ticket of Apna Dal (Sonelal), a BJP ally. Haider Ali Khan is the grandson of former MP Noor Bano.

Outgoing Minister of State for Jal Shakti Baldev Singh Aulakh is the candidate from Bilaspur, Minister of State for Urban Development Mahesh Chandra Gupta from Badaun, and Minister of State for Secondary Education Gulab Devi from Chandausi.

The former mayor of Bareilly Supriya Aron is contesting from Bareilly Cantonment after joining the SP.

The first phase of the seven-phase polls was held on February 10. The results will be declared on March 10.