New Delhi, February 20
Uttar Pradesh and Manipur will go to polls in the final phase of Assembly elections tomorrow covering 186 constituencies along with the byelections to six Lok Sabha seats and seven assembly constituencies in various states.
The electoral fortunes of 2,500 candidates, including Chief Minister Rajnath Singh, former Chief Minister Mayawati, Speaker Kesrinath Tripathi, senior Congress leader Pramod Tiwari in Uttar Pradesh and the longest serving Chief Minister of Manipur Rishang Keishing will be decided tomorrow.
The Election Commission today ordered repoll in 40 polling stations in Kairana Assembly constituency under Muzaffarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh, where state Power Minister Hukum Singh of the BJP was contesting, on the recommendation of Secretary (Legal Affairs) K.J. Rao, who had conducted probe following complaints of booth capturing and gross irregularities in procedures. The repoll in these polling stations will be held on February 22, the commission announced here today.
In the byelections, the fate of former Prime Minister H.D. Devegowda (Kanakpura Lok Sabha constituency), Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi (Rajkot II Assembly), AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa (Andipatti Assembly), son of late Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna Lok Sabha) and slain MP Phoolan Devi’s husband Umed Singh (Mirzapur Lok Sabha) will also be decided.
Tomorrow’s poll will cover 166 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh and 20 in Manipur. Byelections for the Lok Sabha will be held in Kaliabor (Assam), Jammu, Kanakpura (Karnataka), Guna (Madhya Pradesh), Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh) and Tripura West.
Byelections to seven Assembly constituencies Yamunanagar (Haryana), Arvi (Maharashtra), Andipatti (Tamil Nadu), Rajkot-II, Sayajiganj and Mahuva (Gujarat) will also be held.
The Election Commission on January 15 postponed the byelections in Saidapet and Vaniyambadi constituencies in Tamil Nadu. The Congress is contesting in 165 constituencies, BJP in 136, Samajwadi Party in 158, Nationalist Congress Party 38, CPI and CPM in three and four constituencies, respectively.
Among the aspirants in the fray include Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Rishang Keishing. The Guna Lok Sabha seat fell vacant following the death of senior Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia and in Mirzapur the death of Samajwadi Party MP Phoolan Devi necessitated the poll.
The counting of votes will take place on February 24.
