Phase 1 of UP polls: Voting begins for 58 seats, PM Modi says ‘Pehle matdan, phir jalpan’

Lucknow, Feb 10: The high-stakes battle for Uttar Pradesh began today as polling underway in 58 assembly seats spread across 11 districts in the western part of the state.The voting will end at 6 pm.

The fate of prominent leaders including Shrikant Sharma, Suresh Rana, Sandeep Singh, Kapil Dev Agarwal, Atul Garg and Chowdhury Lakshmi Narain will be decided today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the voters of Uttar Pradesh to exercise their franchise as 58 constituencies of western Uttar Pradesh are going to the polls, kicking off the assembly election.

"Today is the first phase of voting in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. I request all voters to participate enthusiastically adhering to the Covid rules. First vote and then refreshment," PM Modi tweeted in Hindi.

Leading the campaign for the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched for a double-engine government for fast-paced development while attacking the Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) combine.

While Union Home Minister Amit Shah and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath tried to put the spotlight back on alleged "exodus" of Hindus from Kairana before 2017, SP president Akhilesh Yadav claimed that people have made up their mind to vote out the BJP from power.

The SP-RLD alliance has centred their electioneering on farmers' issues and has attacked Adityanath over poll promises.

BSP chief Mayawati, who started campaigning late, reminded people of her government's track record on law and order in the past.

The Congress under the leadership of its general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has generated interest as seen in door-to-door campaigns.

The districts where the elections will be held are Shamli, Hapur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura and Agra.