Elaborate security for Phase III polls in UP tomorrow

Lucknow, Apr 17: Elaborate security arrangements have been made for tomorrow's third phase polling for the assembly elections in 57 seats spread across 10 districts in Uttar Pradesh.

The Indo-Nepal international border across Pilibhit have been sealed off along with all the interstate borders. Central Para Military Forces(CPMF) have taken control of the law and order situation in these districts and were holding ' Flag Marches' to instill confidence among voters.

More than 660 companies of CPMF along with 60,000 state police have been deployed for the third phase of polling which include several communal sensitive regions like Amroha, Moradabad, Rampur, Bijnour, Sambhal and Bareilly.

The fate of Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav(Gunnaur), deputy speaker of the state legislative assembly Rajesh Agarwal of BJP (Bareilly city), state Urban Development minister Mohammad Azam Khan (Rampur) is among the 861 candidates who are contesting the elections. Altogether there are 57 women candidates in the fray in the phase.

Umlesh Yadav, mother of Vikas Yadav, who was convicted for the murder of Jessica Lall, is also contesting from Bisauli seat. Her husband and former Rajya Sabha member D P Yadav is also in the fray from Sahaswan assembly constituency in Badaun district.

A total of 1.51 crore voters including, 82.1 lakh male and 69.1 lakh female, will exercise their franchise at 14730 polling booths.

About 17000 electronic Voting Machines(EVMs) will be used in this phase.

Amroha seat has the maximum of 29 candidates while Gunnaur has the minimum of 6 candidates in the fray.

The Election Commission has directed district authorities to allow voters exercise their franchise even if they do not possess Election Photo Identity Cards (EPICs). But the voters will have to show at least one of the 15 alternative photo identities cleared by the EC.

The poll campaigning for Phase-III was a lacklustre affair with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh campaigning for the Congress. Dr Manmohan Singh addressed an election rally in Pilibhit and Bijnour while Congress MP Rahul Gandhi covered several districts through his roadshows for garnering support. The stakes for the ruling Samajwadi Party are high in this phase as Gunnaur is constituency of the Chief Minister and it also involves assembly seats of Kannauj, from where his son Akhilesh Yadav is MP.

Veteran Congress leader Noor Bano will also put in her efforts to win back some of the seats from Rampur and Moradabad even as her son Kazim Ali, who won the 2002 polls on a Congress ticket, is contesting on SP ticket this time.

State Congress president Salman Khurshid's home district Farrukhabad will also go to polls in this phase. His wife Luise Khurshid is trying her luck for the second time from Kayamganj seat.

BJP MP Menaka Gandhi will also have prove her popularity in Pilibhit while young Congress MP Jiten Prasada will fight all out in Shahjahanpur.

Pilibhit, where Dr Singh projected Rahul Gandhi as the ''future of Uttar Pradesh'', is being considered important for the Congress as it is termed ''mini Punjab'' with majority of the voters belonging to the Sikh community. With reverses in Punjab assembly elections still fresh in the minds of Congress leadership, the Prime Minister's public meeting is expected to ensure gains for the party in the district. The 'Terai' region, which also includes parts of Central UP, is considered the rice bowl of UP.

In the 2002 assembly polls, the ruling SP won the maximum 25 out of the 57 seats at stake in Phase-III, while BJP won 10, BSP 10, Congress 4, RLD 1, CPI(M) 1, Independents 4 and others 2.

In the second phase, polling for which was held on Friday last, altogether 881 candidates were in the fray for 58 seats. About 46 per cent of the electorate had exercised their franchise in the polling.

In the first phase of polling on April 7, the fate of as many as 839 candidates were sealed in the EVMs where over 46 per cent of voters had cast ballots in 62 seats spread over 13 districts.

The districts going to poll in the phase are Bijnor, Moradabad, Jyotiba Phule Nagar, Rampur, Badaun, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Farrukhabad and Kannauj.

The constituencies are: Seohara, Bareilly City, Dhampur, Nawabganj, Afzalgarh, Bhojipura, Nagina(SC), Kawar, Najibabad(SC), Baheri, Bijnor, Pilibhit, Chandpur, Barkhera(SC), Kanth, Bisalpur, Amroha, Puranpur, Hasanpur, Powayan(SC), Gangeshwari(SC), Nigohi, Sambhal, Tilhar, Bahjoi, Jalalabad, Chandausi(SC), Dadraul, Kunderki, Shahjahanpur, Moradabad West, Kannauj(SC), Moradabad, Umardha, Moradabad Rural, Chhibramau, Thakurdwara, Kamalganj, Suartanda, Farrukhabad, Rampur, Kayamganj, Bilaspur, Mohammdabad, Shahabad(SC), Bisauli, Gunnaur, Sahaswan, Bilsi(SC), Usehat, Binawar, Dataganj, Aonla, Sunha, Faridpur(SC) and Bareilly Cant.

UNI