Uttarakhand, UP Election 2017: Voting Ends In Both States, 66% Turnout In UP Phase 2 - 10 Points

Polling was high in Haridwar Rural, the most crucial seat of the hill state from where Chief Minister Harish Rawat is contesting against sitting BJP legislator Swami Yatishwaranand. In the pilgrim town, the Congress is banking on the Muslim and Dalit votes.

In Uttar Pradesh, the areas where elections were held have a chunk of Muslim population. Of the 11 districts, 7 have more than 30 per cent Muslims. In Rampur and Moradabad, 50 per cent of voters are Muslims.  

In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party hold 34 of the 67 seats, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party or the BSP has 17, the BJP 10 and the Congress 4. Smaller outfits such as the Peace Party and Ittehadul-E-Millat Council had won one seat each in 2012.

Cane dues are expected to be a big issue in Rohilkhand region - a paddy and sugarcane belt. The notes ban, which the BJP claims has huge support from the people, is a key issue in Pilibhit, where 95 per cent of India's flutes were once produced. The other crucial district is Bijnore, which witnessed communal tension prior to polling.

The areas going to polls have a chunk of Muslim population -- 7 have more than 30 per cent Muslim, 50 per cent voters in Rampur and Moradabad are Muslim

In Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Harish Rawat is contesting from Haridwar Rural in Garhwal against sitting BJP legislator Swami Yatishwaranand, banking on the Muslim and Dalit voters in the city that's one of the largest pilgrim centres of the country. The BJP has accused the Congress of turning the "Dev Bhoomi", meaning the land of Gods to "Loot Bhumi" the land of corruption.

For Chief Minister Rawat, the battle is seen as uphill and he is also contesting from Kichcha in Kumaon. The Congress is portraying this as his attempt to reaffirm the party's commitment to both Kumaon and Garhwal. His detractors see this as a last-ditch attempt to save the party in seats where up to 12 leaders have defected, leading to instability and a loss of face for the Congress.

In 2012, the Congress had won only three of the 12 assembly seats that comprise the Lok Sabha seat of Haridwar, which was won by BJP's Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in the 2014 General Elections. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had addressed election rallies in Haridwar.

In this election, the pressure is on the BJP, which had swept the state in the 2014 general election winning 71 of the 80 seats.The party now faces a test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's notes ban, which resulted in a cash crunch that was seen as hitting the rural poor, who comprise a chunk of UP's voters. The ruling Samajwadi Party, its ally the Congress and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party had spared no chance to attack the BJP on this issue.

The staggered battle to choose the 403 legislators of the Uttar Pradesh assembly started on February 11, with 73 constituencies going to polls.The results for all five states will be announced on March 11.