UP Lok Sabha elections: Polling in all 7 phases; Varanasi to vote on May 19, Gandhi bastions on May 6

Uttar Pradesh – the politically-sensitive state which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha – will go to polls in seven phases starting April 11, the Election Commission announced on Sunday.

Voting in Uttar Pradesh will be held on April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

The high-voltage elections in the state will see Congress chief Rahul Gandhi contesting from Amethi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi. Meanwhile, putting rumours of retirement to rest, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will be contesting from Rae Bareli.

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The date sheet shows Varanasi constituency voting last on May 19 while a number of high-profile seats, including Amethi and Rae Bareli, will vote on May 6.

Voting in Lucknow, which elected Home Minister Rajnath Singh in 2014, would also vote on May 6 and so will be the case for another high-profile union minister Ram Vilas Paswan's Hajipur constituency.

Mainpuri, one of the two seats that elected Mulayam Singh Yadav in 2014, will also vote on April 23, while voting in Azamgarh, which the senior Samajwadi Party leader retained, will happen on May 12. Kannauj, which elected his daughter-in-law Dimple Yadav in 2014, will vote on April 29.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP bagged 71 of the 80 seats, surpassing its highest tally of 58 seats in the state which had catapulted the NDA to power in 1998.

The Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party have forged an alliance while elbowing the Congress out of it. The SP-BSP bonhomie won the Lok Sabha by-elections in Gorakhpur, Phulpur and Kairana last year.

Making the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said the model code of conduct would come into immediate effect from Sunday and 10 lakhs polling stations would be set up this time as against about nine lakhs in 2014.

Among other restrictions, the model code bars the government from announcing any policy move that may impact voters' decision.

The EC said the 'voter verifiable paper audit trail' (VVPAT) will be used in all polling stations this time.