UP Election: Fifth phase of voting today; Dy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya among 692 candidates in fray | Top points

UP Election Fifth-Phase: Uttar Pradesh will go to the fifth phase of Assembly polls today with voting to be held in 61 constituencies, majorly covering the eastern region of the state. Out of the 61 Assembly seats across 12 districts, the main constituencies include Amethi, Rae Bareli, Sultanpur, Chitrakoot, Pratapgarh, Prayagraj, Ayodhya, and Gonda. 

1. There are a total of 692 candidates in the fray for the fifth phase of polling and their fate will be decided by 2.24 crore voters.
2. The districts going to the polls today include Sultanpur, Chitrakoot, Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Prayagraj, Barabaki, Bahraich, Shravasti, and Gonda. Amethi and Raebareli, once considered as Congress bastions, Ayodhya, the epicentre of movement for the construction of Lord Ram temple too go to the polls today.
3. Prominent leaders among those in the fray are UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who is contesting from Sirathu assembly segment, Congress legislative party leader Aradhana Mishra from Rampur Khas, Independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya from Kunda seat, and UP cabinet ministers Siddharth Nath Singh from Allahabad West, Nand Gopal Gupta Nadi from Allahabad South and Rajendra Pratap Singh alias Moti Singh.
4. The voting will start at 7 am and end at 6 pm. 
5. With the completion of the fourth round of polling on February 23, the voting has already been completed for the state's 231 assembly seats out of a total 403. 
6. The remaining two phases will take place on March 3 and March 7. The counting of votes will be held on March 10. 
7. As part of the electioneering for the fifth phase of voting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have already crisscrossed various poll-bound constituencies. 
8. BJP rivals Akhilesh Yadav, BSP supremo Mayawati and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi too have toured various poll-bound constituencies widely, seeking to challenge the saffron party.
9. Congress president Sonia Gandhi had digitally addressed a rally for voters of her Rae Bareli constituency, the first one in the ongoing Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. 
10. In the final round of campaigning on Friday, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi addressed a joint rally in Amethi, a citadel of the Gandhi family for long. It was, however, was demolished by the BJP both in the 2017 state polls as well as in the 2019 general elections.