Prominent contestants in this phase include nine ministers of Akhilesh Yadav government.
Uttar Pradesh is all set to vote for the fifth phase of Assembly elections today, in which 51 seats spread over 11 districts will witness polling. A total of 608 candidates are contesting in this phase with a maximum of 24 candidates in Amethi and a minimum of 6 each in Kapilvastu and Etwa seats of Siddharth Nagar district.
Prominent contestants in this phase include nine ministers of Akhilesh government. Gayatri Prasad Prajapati (SP), who will be facing Amita Singh (Congress) and Garima Singh (BJP) in Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Rahul Gandhi, is also contesting in the fifth phase. Ms Amita is the wife of Congress leader Sanjay Singh, while Ms Garima is his estranged better half.
The fate of other ministers like Vinod Kumar Singh known as Pandit Singh from Tarabganj (Gonda), Tej Narain Pandey, referred to as Pawan Pandey from Ayodhya and BSP state president Ram Achal Rajbhar from Akbarpur will also be decided in this phase.
The fifth phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2017 will witness the participation of over 1.84 crore voters which include 96 lakh women.
Here is a list of the key candidates contesting in the fifth phase of Uttar Pradesh elections:
Key Candidates- Phase- 5
| Const No | Const Name | Cand Name | Party | Profile |
|---|
| 24186 | Amethi | Gayatri Prasad Prajapati | SP | Cabinet Minister in UP Government. Recently the Supreme Court of India directed UP police to lodge an FIR against him in connection with a rape case. |
| 24186 | Amethi | Ameeta Singh | Congress | She is the second wife of Sanjay Singh who is a Rajya Sabha MP and a three time MLA from Amethi and Former Zilla Panchayat President from Sultanpur. |
| 24186 | Amethi | Garima Singh | BJP | She is the first wife of Sanjay Singh who is a Rajya Sabha MP and a three time MLA from Amethi and Former Zilla Panchayat President from Sultanpur. |
| 24274 | Bikapur | Shobha Singh Chauhan | BJP | Wife of late Munna Singh Chauhan who was the state President of RLD |
| 24275 | Ayodhya | Tej Narayan Pandey | SP | Sitting MLA and Former President Samajwadi Student Wing Uttar Pradesh |
| 24280 | Jalalpur | Shankhlal Majhi | SP | Minister of Medical-Health and Family Welfare |
| 24281 | Akbarpur | Ram Achal Rajbhar | BSP | BSP State President |
| 24284 | Matera | Yasar Shah | SP | Sitting MLA and a Cabinet Minister in UP Government |
| 24295 | Mehnaun | Rahul Shukla | SP | Son of Sitting MLA Nandita Shukla |
| 24296 | Gonda | Prateek Bhushan Singh | BJP | Son of Lok Sabha MP Brij Bhushan Singh |
| 24299 | Tarabganj | Vinod Kumar | SP | Cabinet Minister of Agriculture |