Lucknow. Voting will be held on Thursday for the by-elections to Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha seats. Voting will be held from 7 am to 6 pm. The Election Commission has completed all the preparations for peaceful, fair and safe voting. A total of 35.45 lakh voters will exercise their franchise in the by-election. Of these, 18.78 lakh are male, 16.67 lakh female and 218 third gender voters.
Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat fell vacant due to resignation of SP President Akhilesh Yadav and Rampur seat Azam Khan. There is a tough fight between BJP and SP in both the seats. BSP is also fighting strongly in Azamgarh. In Azamgarh, SP has fielded former Badaun MP Dharmendra Yadav.
At the same time, BJP has reposed faith in Bhojpuri film actor Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirhua. BSP has given Shah Alam alias Guddu Jamali ticket. In Rampur Lok Sabha seat, there is a direct contest between two close associates of Azam Khan. Here SP has fielded Azam Khan’s close and city president Asim Raza, while BJP has given ticket to Ghanshyam Lodhi.
Chief Electoral Officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said that six candidates are in the fray in Rampur Lok Sabha constituency. In Azamgarh, 13 candidates including a woman are contesting the elections. A total of 4,234 polling places and 2,272 polling stations have been set up in the by-elections. The Commission has also deputed two General Observers and two Expenditure Observers to keep a watchful eye on the polling. Apart from this, 291 Sector Magistrates, 40 Zonal Magistrates, 10 Static Magistrates and 433 Micro Observers have been deployed.
The Election Commission has made arrangements for webcasting at more than 75 percent of the polling places for fair voting. It will be monitored at all three levels by District Election Officer, Chief Electoral Officer and Election Commission of India. Videography will also be done at some polling stations.
Adequate number of Central Armed Police Forces have been deployed to conduct peaceful polling. The responsibility of security from polling stations to EVMs and strong rooms has also been given to the Central Armed Police Forces. A total of 18,644 personnel have been deployed for polling. A total of 15 Adarsh polling stations and 10 pink booths have also been set up in the by-elections.
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