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Voting begins for the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election. The Polling started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm in adherence to the Covid-appropriate guidelines issued by the Election Commission.
In the first phase, 58 assembly constituencies in 11 districts of UP will go to polls. As many as 623 candidates are in the fray in the first phase and around 2.27 crore people are eligible to vote in this phase.
The first phase will see voting in Jat-dominiated western UP region and Doab.
Noida is perceived as a prestigious seat for BJP as Defence Minister and former UP Chief Minister Rajnath Singh's son Pankaj Singh is seeking re-election from here.
Samajwadi Party has fielded Sunil Choudhary, while BSP and AAP have given a ticket to Kripa Ram Sharma and Pankaj Avana respectively. This time, there is another strong challenger in Congress' Pankhuri Pathak who was a former spokesperson of SP.
In the second phase, voting will be held in 55 assembly seats across nine districts on February 14.
The third phase of polling will be held in 59 assembly seats in 16 districts on February 20.
In the fourth phase, voting will be held in 60 assembly seats spanning across nine districts on February 23.
In the fifth phase, 60 assembly seats in 11 districts will go to the polls on February 27.
The sixth phase of polling will be held in 57 assembly seats in 10 districts on March 3.
Finally, on March 7, the seventh phase of voting will be held in 54 assembly constituencies in nine districts of the state.
