New Delhi: Voting for Assembly elections in Goa and parts of Uttar Pradesh, which is going for the second phase of election in the state with 55 seats, began sharp at 7 am on Monday. Chief Ministers Pushkar Singh Dhami, Pramod Sawant, former CM Harish Rawat and jailed SP leader Azam Khan are some of the prominent leaders in the fray. This high-stake election is a litmus test for the Modi government and all its policies.
"Polling will be held across Uttarakhand, Goa and in parts of Uttar Pradesh. I call upon all those who are eligible to vote today to do so in record numbers and strengthen the festival of democracy," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.
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Polling will be held across Uttarakhand, Goa and in parts of Uttar Pradesh. I call upon all those whose are eligible to vote today to do so in record numbers and strengthen the festival of democracy.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 14, 2022 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">Polling will be held across Uttarakhand, Goa and in parts of Uttar Pradesh. I call upon all those whose are eligible to vote today to do so in record numbers and strengthen the festival of democracy.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 14, 2022Polling will be held across Uttarakhand, Goa and in parts of Uttar Pradesh. I call upon all those whose are eligible to vote today to do so in record numbers and strengthen the festival of democracy.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 14, 2022
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the incumbent government in both states. In Uttar Pradesh, where elections will be held to 403 assembly constituencies in seven phases, began voting for its second phase today. The first phase was held on February 10. While Goa will see all of their 40 assembly seats going to polls in a single phase. Voting will be done at 55 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh.
The coastal state of Goa, with over 11 lakh voters, has 301 candidates contesting from 40 Assembly seats. Uttarakhand, which has an electorate of 81 lakh, 632 candidates, including 152 independents, are in the fray from 70 seats. Traditionally the two states have seen bipolar politics, but it is a multi-cornered contest this time in both the states, with Aam Aadmi Party entering the polls in these states.
Uttar Pradesh is in the second phase of the seven-phase Assembly elections in the state. There are 586 candidates in the fray in this phase with 55 seats spread across nine districts of Saharanpur, Bijnor, Moradabad, Sambhal, Rampur, Amroha, Badaun, Bareilly and Shahjahanpur. Over two crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise today. Of them 1,07,61,476 are male voters and 93,79,704 are female. The Election Commission of India has set up 12,544 polling booths for this phase.
The voting is being held in nine districts of Uttar Pradesh including Saharanpur, Bijnor, Moradabad, Sambhal, Rampur, Amroha, Badaun, Bareilly and Shahjahanpur. Total 586 candidates are contesting in the second phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. As per the set norms, the campaigning for the elections in these states ended on Saturday (February 12) at 6 pm, marking the start of a 48-hour-long silence period.
In the Uttar Pradesh elections, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is contesting from Gorakhpur. Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya will contest from Sirathu. In Goa, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant will contest from the Sanquelim seat. Assembly elections in Uttarakhand will also begin on Monday at 8 am. Besides Uttar Pradesh and Goa, the counting of votes for the Assembly polls of the five states including Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur will be held on March 10.
Read: Phase II of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections today, Yogi's ministers among 586 candidates in fray
