UP Elections 2022 Phase 1 Voting Date, Full Schedule, Candidates List, Constituency Details: The seven-phased month-long electoral battle in Uttar Pradesh will begin on Thursday with polling on 58 seats of western UP in the first phase. The polling on the 58 seats, of which nine are reserved, will be held between 7 am and 6 pm on Thursday.

Nearly 50,000 paramilitary personnel from 412 companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed at different locations. The police have already sealed the borders of the state and strict vigilance is underway to maintain law and order. The maximum deployment will be in Muzaffarnagar, Aligarh and Meerut.  

While the BJP faces an uphill task of repeating its 2017 performance when it won 53 seats, the SP-RLD alliance is hopeful of capitalising on the farmers’ angst against the government in wake of the year-long protests against the now-repealed agri laws. 

Political analysts believe western UP to be key to the poll results this time, which will set the stage for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and also be the first indicator of whether ‘Brand Modi’ has remained intact since 2019 or waning in the state under anti-incumbency. Though the main contest is believed to be between the BJP and the SP-RLD, the BSP too has its influence on some seats in the first phase.  

Also Read | UP Elections 2022: From Kairana to Muzaffarnagar, seven key constituencies to watch out for in first phase

The districts where the elections will be held are Shamli, Hapur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura and Agra. 

The 58 seats going to polls tomorrow are Kairana, Thana Bhawan, Shamli, Budhana, Charthawal, Purqazi (SC), Muzaffar Nagar, Khatauli, Meerapur, Siwalkhas, Sardhana, Hastinapur (SC), Kithore, Meerut Cantt., Meerut, Meerut South, Chhaprauli, Baraut, Baghpat, Loni, Muradnagar, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Modi Nagar, Dhaulana, Hapur (SC), Garhmukteshwar, Noida, Dadri, Jewar, Sikandrabad, Bulandshahr, Syana, Anupshahr, Debai, Shikarpur, Khurja (SC), Khair (SC), Barauli, Atrauli, and Chharra, Koil, Aligarh, Iglas (SC), Chhata, Mant, Goverdhan, Mathura, Baldev (SC), Etmadpur, Agra Cantt. (SC), Agra South, Agra North, Agra Rural (SC), Fatehpur Sikri, Kheragarh, Fatehabad, and Bah.

As many as 623 candidates are in the fray in the first phase, which include some prominent names like BJP state vice president Pankaj Singh, late BJP MLA Hukum Singh’s daughter Mriganka Singh, sitting MLA and minister Kapil Dev Aggarwal, power minister Shrikant Sharma and Samajwadi Party’s Nahid Hasan, who was arrested last month under the Gangster Act.

In its poll campaign in the region, the BJP has tried to put the spotlight back on alleged “exodus” of Hindus from Kairana while accusing the Samajwadi Party of using Muslims and Jats only for electoral gains. The BJP has highlighted the proposed international airport in Noida, ending migration from Kairana and the development of the region, along with clearing dues of sugarcane farmers. 

The SP, on the other hand, has centred its electioneering on farmers’ issues and attacked UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over poll promises. The Akhilesh Yadav-led party got a shot in the arm as it joined hands with Jayant Chaudhary-led Rashtriya Lok Dal, The which has a substantial influence in the region. 

BSP chief Mayawati, who started campaigning late, reminded people of her government’s track record on law and order in the past. The Congress under the leadership of its general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has generated interest as seen in road shows and door-to-door campaigning by her.

In addition to the farmer agitation, the issues of “exodus” of a community from Kairana, sugarcane price and payment, and the temple of Lord Krishna in Mathura are likely to feature prominently in the campaign by various parties. 

After the communal riots in Muzaffarnagar in 2013, challenges had arisen for the Samajwadi Party in this stronghold of western Uttar Pradesh and the BJP benefited in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha and 2017 assembly polls. Adityanath and top BJP leaders claim that there has not been a single riot in Uttar Pradesh after the BJP government was formed in 2017.