Lucknow:
Tight security arrangements have been made for the last phase of polling tomorrow as more than 7,000 polling stations in the 18 seats, including Varanasi and Azamgarh from where
Narendra Modi and
Mulayam Singh Yadav are contesting respectively, have been identified as critical by the Election Commission.
Refusing to divulge details of deployment of forces, UP Chief Electoral Officer Umesh Sinha said 38 general observers, 18 expenses and two police observers, three awareness observers and 4,594 micro-level observers have been deployed to ensure free and fair polling. (
India Votes 2014: Full coverage)
As many as 44 assistant observers and 44 assistant police observers have also been deployed, of which maximum chunk has been stationed in Azamgarh and Varanasi.
The last phase of Lok Sabha polls will also cover three naxal-affected districts of Mirzapur, Sonbhadra and Chandauli, for which state police have made special arrangements.
"There is a total of 31,482 polling booths, of which 7,228 have been declared critical, in this round...As many as 62,415 licenced weapons and 85,679 litres of illicit liquor have been seized, and Rs 1.99 crore in cash confiscated in the run up to the polls," Mr Sinha said.
The 18 seats spread over 14 districts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh saw voting percentage of 46.55 in the 2009 general elections, while in the 2012 Assembly polls it went up to 56.28 per cent, he said.
"At 625 polling booths, arrangements for webcasting of proceedings have been made," he said.
Gorakhpur is the largest constituency with about 19.03 lakh voters, while naxal-affected Robertsganj is the smallest with 16.38 lakh electorate.
Maximum number of 42 candidates are trying their luck from the high-profile Varanasi constituency which is seeing a contest between Modi, Aam Aadmi Party chief
Arvind Kejriwal and Congress's Ajay Rai.
"The polling in Chakia, Duddhi and Rabertsganj will take place from 7 am to 4 pm, while in rest of seats it will go on till 6 PM. Fourteen seats in this round are general while four are reserved (SC) seats," he said.
There are 328 candidates in the fray including Modi, Kejriwal, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Jagdambika Pal, Union Minister of State Home Affairs RPN Singh and Yogi Adityanath. Among them, there are 14 women candidates and two belonging to 'others' category.
"As many as 2,232 Sector Magistrates, 276 Zonal Magistrates, 631 Static Magistrates and five Super Zonal Magistrates have been deployed to ensure smooth polling," Mr Sinha said.
The sensitivity of last phase of polling in the state can be understood from the fact that a voluntary group, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), has tagged 13 out of 18 seats on "Red Alert".
The group analysed affidavits filed by 325 candidates from the area and concluded that 63 of them have criminal charges against them including those related to murder, attempt to murder, causing communal disharmony, kidnapping and crimes against women.
Qaumi Ekta Dal's candidate from Ghosi seat Mukhtar Ansari has the maximum of four charges of murder pending against him followed by Dhananjay Singh, Independent candidate from Jaunpur, who has two murder charges, it had said. Singh and Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate from Bansgaon also face rape charges on them, the ADR had said.
Seven SP candidates face criminal charges followed by the BSP which has fielded six such candidates, Congress five and BJP three.