UP polls: Campaign for second phase ends tomorrow

Hectic campaigning for the second phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections will come to an end tomorrow in 67 Assembly constituencies spread over 11 districts.

Polling in these constituencies will be held on February 15.

The seats are spread across 11 districts - Saharanpur, Bijnor, Moradabad, Sambhal, Rampur, Bareilly, Amroha, Pilibhit, Kheri, Shahjahanpur and Badaun.

In the 67 seats at stake, ruling Samajwadi Party had won 34 seats in 2012, followed by BSP 18, BJP 10, Congress 3 and others 2.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah championed the cause of the saffron party, Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance charge was spear-headed by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, besides other leaders of the respective parties.

BSP supremo Mayawati wooed voters addressing one rally after another all by herself, with senior party leader SC Misra chipping in at certain places.

Both Modi and Shah slammed Congress and Samajwadi Party, saying Rahul ran a campaign against the SP government and wondered as to what happened overnight that they were embracing each other now.

Akhilesh and Rahul harped on the theme of demonetisation, saying Modi's note ban decision had caused immense hardship to those living in rural areas.

Keeping in mind the fact that western UP has vast tracts of agricultural land, Modi played pro-poor and pro-farmers card and reiterated his party's promise of waiving loans of small and marginal farmers and paying the dues of sugarcane growers within 14 days of coming to power.