Polling for Punjab’s 117 Assembly seats began from 8 am, while the third phase of voting for 59 seats in Uttar Pradesh will be from 7 am to 6 pm.
In Punjab, the contest is between the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the alliance of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and former state CM Amarinder Singh’s outfit Punjab Lok Congress. (PLC).
Over 2.14 crore residents will be voting to choose from 1,304 candidates for 117 seats in Punjab.
Incumbent Chief Minister and Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi is contesting from Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur constituencies.
Aam Aadmi Party’s chief ministerial face Bhagwant Mann, Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu, former Chief Ministers Amarinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal and Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal are also in the fray.
In UP in the third phase, as many as 2.15 crore voters will cast their votes to elect from 627 candidates.
Elections are being held in Firozabad, Farrukhabad, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar, Etah, Hamirpur, Hathras, Mahoba, Kasganj, Mainpuri, Kannauj, Etawah, Auraiya, Jalaun, Jhansi and Lalitpur.
This phase will see Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav contesting from the Karhal assembly seat in Mainpuri district.
Two phases of the elections in the state took place on February 10 and February 14.
