(F.P)
Polling to decide the fate of 692 candidates in the fray for 61 assembly seats across 12 districts of Uttar Pradesh will take place in the fifth phase of the state assembly elections on Sunday. Campaigning for the fifth phase ended on Friday evening, and all necessary arrangements have been completed, state Chief Election Officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said here on Saturday. Polling will start at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, he said. Around 2.24 crore voters will exercise their franchise in this phase in the districts of Sultanpur, Chitrakoot, Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Prayagraj, Barabanki, Bahraich, Shravasti and Gonda. Amethi and Raebareli, once considered Congress bastions, and Ayodhya, the epicentre of the Ram temple movement, will too vote on Sunday. Prominent faces in the fray for the fifth phase include Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who is contesting from the Sirathu assembly seat in Kaushambi district. He is facing Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) candidate Pallavi Patel.
As part of the electioneering for the fifth phase, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have already crisscrossed the poll-bound constituencies. BJP rivals Akhilesh Yadav, chief of the Samajwadi Party, BSP supremo Mayawati and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too have toured the constituencies extensively
