Ayodhya, Amethi vote today in 5th phase of UP polls: 5 points

Ayodhya and Amethi - viewed as crucial in the national politics - are voting on Sunday in Uttar Pradesh where polling is being held across 12 districts for the fifth phase of the assembly elections. Of 61 constituencies that are polling, 58 are in eastern UP. Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya is among the key contenders in this phase.Here are five points on the fifth phase of Uttar Pradesh polls:1. Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party has emerged as the key challenger to the BJP, which had won 47 of the 61 constituencies - polling in this phase - in the 2017 elections. In 2012, Akhilesh Yadav's party had won 40 seats. In Ayodhya, the Ram temple movement epicente, the ruling BJP won all five seats in the 2017 polls. In 2012, the Samajwadi Party had won four of five seats. 2. Sultanpur, Chitrakoot, Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Prayagraj, Barabanki, Bahraich, Shravasti and Gonda are the districts where voting is taking place on Sunday. Nearly 2.24 crore people are eligible to vote; a total of 693 candidates are contesting the polls.3. Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) candidate Pallavi Patel is contesting against the deputy chief minister Maurya. Among the ministers fighting the elections in the phase are - Siddharth Nath Singh from Allahabad West, Rajendra Singh from Patti (Pratapgarh), Nand Gopal Gupta Nadi from Allahabad South and Ramapati Shastri from Mankapur (Gonda). In Pratapgarh, one of the key candidates is Union Minister Anupriya Patel's mother Krishna Patel, a leader of Samajwadi Party ally Apna Dal (K).4. It is to be seen if the Congress can gain the lost ground in Amethi, where Rahul Gandhi lost to the BJP's Smriti Irani in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The party was not able to win any seats here in the 2017 assembly elections. Sonia Gandhi has been holding virtual rallies while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Rahul Gandhi have been among other star campaigners of the party. Only one constituency in Rae Bareli is voting on Sunday; five others voted in the fifth phase.5. After the fifth phase, voting will be held for 111 constituncies on March 3 and March 7. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.(With inputs from PTI)

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