Assembly Polls 2022 | Uttarakhand, Goa, Uttar Pradesh to vote today: All you need to know

Voting began across all 40 seats of Goa and 55 constituencies Uttar Pradesh in the second phase of the assembly polls on February 14. Polling will also be held across all 70 seats of Uttarakhand.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, his Uttarakhand counterpart Pushkar Singh Dhami, former CM of Uttarakhand Harish Rawat and jailed Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan are among the prominent leaders in the fray in the three states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Uttar Pradesh

In Uttar Pradesh, polling for the second phase began at 7 am in 55 seats spread across nine districts of the state. As many as 586 candidates are in the fray in UP in this phase. The BJP had won 38 of the 55 seats in 2017 assembly polls, while the SP had bagged 15 and the Congress two. The region going to the polls comprising districts with a sizeable Muslim population including, Saharanpur, Bijnor, Moradabad, Sambhal, Rampur, Amroha, Budaun, Bareilly and Shahjahanpur. These districts are known to be SP strongholds.

READ | UP Assembly polls 2022: Of candidates in fray for February 14 elections, 12 are 'illiterate', 114 educated till Class 8

The prominent faces in fray in this phase include  Dharam Singh Saini, a BJP minister who had switched, along with other OBC leaders, to the SP. Former minister in SP government Azam Khan has been fielded from his stronghold Rampur seat, while Saini is trying his luck from the Nakud Assembly segment. Khan's son Abdullah Azam has been fielded from the Swar seat. He is pitted against Haider Ali Khan, the heir of another political family, the Nawabs of Rampur, who is trying his luck on the ticket of Apna Dal (Sonelal), a BJP ally.

Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai and his wife Reetha Sreedharan cast their votes at polling booth number 15 of Taleigao Assembly Constituency#GoaElections2022 pic.twitter.com/IGhPWBS04O

— ANI (@ANI) February 14, 2022

Outgoing Minister of State for Jal Shakti Baldev Singh Aulakh contesting from Bilaspur, Minister of State for Urban Development Mahesh Chandra Gupta from Badaun, and Minister of State for Secondary Education Gulab Devi from Chandausi, are among other prominent candidates in fray today from Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP, in its campaign, has been attacking the SP over law and order situation in the state, asking voters to remember what it terms as ‘mafia raj’ under Akhilesh Yadav's government. The first phase of polling held on February 10 across 58 seats of UP recorded 62.08 per cent voting percentage.

UP is voting in seven phases. The results will be declared on March 10.

Uttarakhand

As many as 632 candidates are in the fray from all 70 seats of Uttarakhand today. The voting will begin at 8 AM in the hill state across 11,697 polling booths.

Prominent leaders in the fray today include Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, his cabinet colleagues Satpal Maharaj, Subodh Uniyal, Arvind Pandey, Dhan Singh Rawat and Rekha Arya besides state BJP president Madan Kaushik. Candidates from Opposition Congress include former chief minister Harish Rawat, former minister Yashpal Arya, state Congress president Ganesh Godiyal and Leader of Opposition in the fourth assembly Pritam Singh.

Also, read | Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami promises Uniform Civil Code if re-elected

The BJP is seeking a second consecutive term in the state with its leaders warning voters against the Congress' "policy of appeasement." Like in other BJP-ruled states, the saffron party has sought votes in the name of a double-engine government for the state's uninterrupted development over the next five years. The Congress, which is trying to retain power after its defeat in 2017, has targeted the BJP on  inflation, unemployment and change of chief ministers in quick succession.

In 2017 assembly election, the BJP had won 57 out of a total of 70 seats in Uttarakhand limiting Congress to just 11. Two seats had gone to Independents.

Also, read | Uttarakhand elections: What the state needs, beyond campaign trails and election promises

The AAP, which is contesting all 70 assembly constituencies, has offered  promises including free electricity up to 300 units to every household to lure voters.

Goa

As many as 301 candidates are contesting from 40 seats of Goa. Usually a bi-polar contest, the Goa election is, this time, witnessing a multi-cornered contest this time with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) testing waters in all seats. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) and other smaller parties are also vying to make a mark on Goa's electoral scene.

The prominent candidates in Goa include Chief Minister Pramod Sawant (BJP), Leader of the Opposition Digambar Kamat (Congress), former CMs Churchill Alemao (TMC), Ravi Naik (BJP), Laxmikant Parsekar (independent), former deputy CMs Vijai Sardesai (GFP) and Sudin Dhavalikar (MGP), late CM Manohar Parrikar's son Utpal Parrikar and AAP's CM face Amit Paleker.

The Congress and the Goa Forward Party (GFP) are fighting the election in alliance, while the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has joined hands with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). The Shiv Sena and the NCP had also announced their pre-poll alliance, while the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is contesting on its own.

Also, read | Assembly Elections 2022: Ten fights to follow in Goa

The coastal state recorded 82.56 percent turnout during the 2017 elections. The Congress had bagged 17 seats, while the BJP bagged 13. Later, the BJP stitched up an alliance with some regional outfits and independents to form government in the state.

(With PTI inputs)