Poll preparations are complete for the fourth phase of Lok Sabha polls in 13 seats in Uttar Pradesh to be held tomorrow. After a drop in polling percentage in the first three phases of polls, the Election Commission and district authorities were making all-out efforts to bring the voters to the booths.
Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm. Special arrangements have been made at all the booths including drinking water, sheds, and sitting facilities to cope with the heat wave conditions.
Over 2 lakh security personnel including around 225 companies of Central forces have been deployed in this phase.
Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav from Kannauj and Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni( Kheri) are among the 130 candidates whose fate would be decided in this phase.
Along with 13 Lok Sabha seats, by-election of Dadraul Assembly seat in Shahjahanpur district would also be held tomorrow. There are 10 candidates in the fray on Dadraul Assembly seat.
There are 2.46 crore voters — 1.31 crore male and 1.15 crore female — in the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies during the fourth phase. There are a total of 16,334 polling stations and 26,588 polling booths in these constituencies.
There are a total of 3.72 lakh voters — 1.99 lakh male and 1.72 lakh female — in Dadraul Assembly Constituency.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa said here on Sunday that polling parties have been dispatched this morning to their respective booths.
He said to maintain fairness and transparency in the polling process, over 50 per cent of the booths will go for webcasting.
The 13 Lok Sabha constituencies of the fourth phase are Shahjahanpur (SC), Kheri, Dhaurahara, Sitapur, Hardoi (SC), Mishrikh (SC), Unnao, Farrukhabad, Etawah (SC), Kannauj, Kanpur, Akbarpur and Bahraich (SC) .
Around 28 per cent of the candidates contesting in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections have criminal cases registered against them while 41 per cent are crorepatis.