Lucknow: Thirteen Lok Sabha constituencies, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Varanasi seat, are scheduled for polling in the final and seventh phase of the general elections on Saturday.
Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha, has conducted elections across all seven phases. Additionally, a bypoll for the Duddhi (ST) assembly constituency in Sonbhadra district will be conducted, with six candidates vying for the seat vacated due to BJP MLA Ram Dular’s disqualification following a conviction in a rape case.
The parliamentary constituencies where voting will occur span across 11 districts and include Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon (SC), Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur, and Robertsganj (SC).
Uttar Pradesh is witnessing a direct contest primarily between the BJP-led NDA and the coalition of INDIA bloc members Samajwadi Party and Congress.
In addition to Prime Minister Modi seeking re-election from Varanasi, there are 143 other candidates in contention. Prominent candidates include UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur, Union ministers Mahendra Nath Pandey, Pankaj Chaudhary, and Anupriya Patel from Maharajganj, Chandauli, and Mirzapur respectively, and Afzal Ansari from Ghazipur, among others.
Campaigning concluded on Thursday evening, with BJP leaders including Prime Minister Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh leading the charge for the NDA. The INDIA bloc was supported by Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and his wife Dimple Yadav, who conducted roadshows in Varanasi and Gorakhpur.
Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm across all constituencies in this phase, with 144 candidates, including 10 women, contesting for 13 Lok Sabha seats.
