Lucknow, Nov 20 (UNI) Campaigning for the crucial first phase of elections to urban local bodies in Uttar Pradesh ended on Monday evening for districts where polling would be held on November 22.

Altogether 24 districts will go to polls in the first phase, including elections to mayoral posts. Polling would be held from 0730 hrs to 1700 hrs amid tight security.

Polling in the other two phases would be held on November 26 and 29, while counting of votes for all the three phases would be done on December 1 and results are expected to be declared the same day.

The districts going to polls in the first phase on November 22 are Shamli, Meerut, Hapur, Bijnore, Badaun, Hathras, Kasganj, Agra, Kanpur, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Chitrakoot, Kaushambi, Pratapgarh, Unnao, Hardoi, Amethi, Faizabad, Gonda, Basti, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Ghazipur and Sonebhadra.

This would be the first political test of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in the state which came to power on March 19.

The BJP is leaving no stone unturned in the campaigning with the CM leading the campaign by addressing several election rallies in the poll-bound districts. Other senior BJP leaders, too, are actively campaigning including state president Mahendra Nath Pandey.

While Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have left campaigning to its second-rank leaders, Congress has engaged senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Raj Babbar to address election meetings in selected pockets of the state.

State Election Commissioner (SEC) S K Agarwal told UNI here on Sunday that all arrangements for smooth conduct of the first phase have been made.

The poll personnel would start reaching their booths by the evening of November 21 along with security personnel.

For the first time, around 40 companies of central paramilitary forces have been given to the state to maintain law and order during the elections.

In the first phase of polling, voting would be held in 24 districts covering five Municipal Corporations, 71 Municipalities and 154 Nagar Panchayats. A total of 230 local bodies will go to polls in the first phase, covering 4,095 wards. There are 1.09 crore voters in this phase who will exercise their franchise at 11,679 booths.

According to the break-up, five Municipal Corporations in five districts will go to polls, spread over 430 wards served by 4,697 booths. Similarly, elections will be held in 1,819 wards under 71 municipalities in 22 districts.

Further, elections will be held for 152 Nagar panchayats in 24 districts comprising 1,846 wards.
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