UP Assembly elections: From Akhilesh Yadav to Asim Arun, check key candidates in Phase 3

More than 600 candidates are in the fray in the third phase.

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh is on Sunday (February 20, 2022) voting in the third phase of the ongoing Assembly elections in the state. The polling has started at 7 AM in 59 constituencies spread across 16 districts and will continue till 6 PM.

Over 2.15 crore voters will decide the fate of as many as 627 candidates in the fray in this phase.

The districts where votes are being cast are Hathras, Firozabad, Etah, Kasganj, Mainpuri, Farrukhabad, Kannauj, Etawah, Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar, Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Hamirpur and Mahoba.

In the 2017 elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won 49 of these 59 seats while the Samajwadi Party (SP) had bagged nine. Congress had settled with one seat and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was unable to open its account.

Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022: Check key candidates in Phase 3

Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is one of the prominent faces contesting in this phase of polling. The son of Mulayam Singh Yadav is contesting his first assembly elections from the Karhal Assembly seat.

SP Singh Baghel

Union minister Satya Pal Singh Baghel is the BJP's nominee from the Karhal seat to fight against Akhilesh. Baghel, 61, is challenging a member of the Yadav family for the third time in the electoral battle from Karhal. He had earlier unsuccessfully contested against Akhilesh Yadav in 2009, Dimple Yadav in 2009 (bypoll) and Akshay Yadav in 2014 from Firozabad.

Shivpal Singh Yadav

The polling on Sunday will also seal the fate of the Samajwadi Party chief's uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav, who is contesting from his traditional Jaswantnagar seat. SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav's younger brother, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) President is fighting the polls this time after a truce with his nephew Akhilesh Yadav.

Ramveer Upadhyay

Ramveer Upadhyay, who is contesting from Sadabad in the Hathras district, is another key candidate in the third phase. The former Uttar Pradesh minister and Mayawati-led BSP MLA had joined the BJP last month.

Louise Khurshid

Louise Khurshid, the wife of senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, is contesting on the Congress' ticket from Farrukhabad Sadar.

Asim Arun

Considered a bastion of Mulayam Singh Yadav, the BJP is trying to make an inroad in Kannauj by fielding policeman-turned politician Asim Arun from the Kannauj Sadar seat. The former Kanpur Police Commissioner is a local and had taken a VRS to plunge into electoral politics. He is fighting against Anil Dohre, a three-time SP MLA.

Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022: Ministers in Phase 3

Satish Mahana

Satish Mahana, the Minister of Industrial Development in the Yogi Adityanath Government, is contesting from the Maharajpur seat in the Kanpur district. He is a seven-time MLA from Kanpur Cantt. 

Ram Naresh Agnihotri

Ram Naresh Agnihotri is the Cabinet Minister of Excise, Prohibition and is seeking a re-election from the Bhongaon Assembly constituency. 

Manoharlal Mannu Kori

Manoharlal Mannu Kori, the minister for Labor and Employment, is fighting from Mehroni.

Lakhan Singh Rajput

Lakhan Singh Rajput, the Minister of Agriculture, Agricultural Education, Agricultural Research in the UP government, is contesting from the Dibiyapur seat.

Neelima Katiyar 

Neelima Katiyar, the State Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology, is also seeking re-election from Kalyanpur.

Ajit Singh Pal

State Minister for Electronics, Information Technology, Ajit Singh Pal is fighting from the Sikandra constituency.