UP Election 2022: Over 600 candidates on 58 seats in fray in first phase

The first phase of the UP elections will take place on February 10. Elections for 58 seats in 11 districts of Western UP will be contested in this first round of UP elections. In the first round, 623 contestants are competing. There are 156 candidates that have acknowledged to criminal charges against them. At the same time, numerous state government ministers' seats are up for grabs in the first round of voting. The polls will be open from 7 am until 6 pm on February 10.

Kairana
The SP coalition has selected Nahid Hasan for the Kairana seat. However, he was imprisoned the following day after being nominated under the Gangs Act. Mriganka Singh is the BJP's candidate. She had also run for the BJP in the last election. She is the daughter of Hukum Singh, a former minister who championed the subject of migration. Meanwhile, Rajendra Singh is running from here for the BSP. At the same time, Congress has handed Akhlaq a ticket.

Ghaziabad
In the Ghaziabad seat, the race between a BJP contender and a former BJP candidate appears to be heating up. Yogi Sarkar's minister Atul Garg is running against former BJP leader KK Shukla, who has joined the BSP in this constituency, which has been a BJP stronghold. Former MP Sushant Goyal, son of Surendra Prakash Goyal, was chosen by the Congress and has expressed faith in him. While the SP has named Vishal Verma as their candidate.

Loni
In the Loni assembly seat, the BJP has staked its claim on Nandkishore Gurjar. From here, the SP coalition has fielded Madan Bhaiya. From here, Haji Aqueel of the BSP and Yameen Malik of the Congress are running.

Budhana
Rajpal Singh Balyan, a former Rashtriya Lok Dal warlord and two-time MLA, is running for the Budhana Assembly seat. Simultaneously, Umesh Malik of the BJP has been nominated. This seat is also thought to be competitive. Rajpal Baliyan, who describes himself as a candidate of the Jat community, claims to have the support of 100 per cent of Jat voters. In contrast, BJP candidate Umesh Malik, referring to the 2013 elections, stated that the alliance's candidate will know who the public is within the 2022 elections.

Muzaffarnagar
Following the Muzaffarnagar farmers' movement, the market for Muzaffarnagar seat talks is also brisk. Farmers vowed to destabilise the BJP by assembling a mahapanchayat last year. As a result, this election is critical. In this case, the BJP has placed its faith in MLA Kapil Dev Agarwal. The SP-RLD coalition has nominated Saurabh Swarup as their nominee. Pandit Subodh of the Congress and Pushkar Pal of the BSP are running. Following the mahapanchayat of farmers and previous agitations, the BJP would struggle to claim victory from this seat.

Baghpat
The BJP has nominated Yogesh Dhama for the Baghpat seat. In this election, Ahmed Hameed of the SP-RLD coalition is running. From here, Arun Kasana of the BSP and Anil Dev of the Congress are running. Following the farmers' agitation in Baghpat, the BJP faces a significant challenge. On the other hand, Jayant Chaudhary faces a difficult task in preserving the political heritage here. As a result, both parties are working hard to ensure that the election results in their favour. It would be inappropriate to comment on the outcome of this position.

Meerut
The Meerut district seat of Sardhana has long been a source of contention. In this case, the BJP has merely placed a bet on MLA Sangeet Som. While Atul Pradhan of the SP alliance and Saeed Rihanuddin of the Congress have received tickets, Sanjeev Dhama of the BSP is also running. Sangeet Som and Atul Pradhan are thought to be the major percussionists here.

Jewar
After the International Airport, the location of the Jewar assembly seat is being debated extensively. All major parties have their sights set on this seat. Dhirendra Singh is the MLA from here, and he beat BSP candidate Vedram Bhati in 2017. The BJP has placed another gamble on him. The SP RLD coalition has placed a bet on Avtar Singh Bhadana, who has defected from the BJP. Manoj Chaudhary of Congress has been handed the ticket in place of Narendra Bhati of the BSP. Even though the incumbent MLAs are from the BJP, the outcome of this seat in the struggle with loved ones will not be known until March 10.

Agra
Former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh's coin used to run in the Agra Rural seat. This time, the BJP has removed the ticket of MLA Vijay Singh Rana in order to back former Governor Babyrani Maurya. In contrast, the SP coalition has handed Mahesh Kumar Yadav a ticket. On the other hand, Upendra Singh of the Congress Party and Kiran Prabha of the BSP are running. Babyrani Maurya is expected to win this seat.

Atrauli
Sandeep Kumar Singh, Kalyan Singh's grandson, has been handed a ticket for the Atrauli constituency by the BJP. While the SP has fielded former MLA Viresh Yadav in the election, the BSP has backed Dr Omveer, while the Congress has backed Dharmendra Kumar. In 1967 and 1977, Kalyan Singh hoisted the BJP flag here. After that, he was a member of the Legislative Assembly from here in 1985 and again in 2007. Sandeep's challenge in such a circumstance is to safeguard the heritage.

Mathura
From 2002 through 2017, Congress held the Mathura Assembly seat. However, in the 2017 elections, Shrikant Sharma won this seat for the BJP. However, they face a new hurdle in order to keep their lead. Whereas it is time to reclaim the seat that was lost in front of Congress. In such a case, the competition is deemed fascinating. Pradeep Mathur has been handed a ticket by the Congress once again from this location. The BSP fielded Jagjit Chaudhary, while the SP-RLD combination fielded former MLA Devendra Agarwal. Shrikant Sharma faces a difficult task in retaining this seat in the face of widespread popular dissatisfaction.

Noida
The Noida assembly seat, which was created in 2012, is seen as a BJP stronghold. Pankaj Singh, the son of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, is the MLA from here. Congress has awarded Pankhuri Pathak a ticket. The BSP, on the other hand, has offered a ticket to Kriparaj Sharma. The SP alliance has fielded Sunil Chaudhary. After giving the ticket to Pankhuri Pathak, the BJP has found it difficult to win from here.

Hastinapur
Hastinapur is being discussed after Archana Gautam was named a contender for the Congress party. She has moved from the world of glam to politics after gaining success in the world of glam. She has crowned Miss Bikini India. From here, the BJP has staked its claim on incumbent MLA Dinesh Khatik. In contrast, the SP has expressed faith in Yogesh Verma. Yogesh's wife is the Mayor of Meerut Municipal Corporation. In this case, the competition appears to be triangular. At the same time, the BSP has expressed trust in Sanjeev Jatav from this point forward.

For the first phase, there are 2,27,83,739 voters as the first phase of polling for 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Election 2022 is on February 10.  The counting of votes will take place on March 10.

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• UP Election 2022
• BJP
• Congress
• BSP
• Samajwadi Party