Lok Sabha poll: 96 candidates in fray from 8 seats in Uttar Pradesh during first phase

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In Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state electorally with 80 Lok Sabha seats, a total of 96 contestants are in fray for the 8 seats going for polls in the first phase of the 2019 General Election on April 11.

The Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh going for polls in the first phase are Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar. In 2014, a total of 122 candidates had contested for these seats.

The number of independent candidates in the upcoming Lok Sabha poll has also come down significantly on these 8 seats. While 47 independent candidates were in fray in 2014 Lok Sabha election, this year only 20 Independent candidates are in the fray from these seats.

Constituency wise number of contestants for these 8 seats in the upcoming General Elections and preceding two General Elections is as below:

General Election Year	Number of Contestants in Lok Sabha Constituency
	Saharanpur	Kairana	Muzaffarnagar	Bijnor	Meerut	Baghpat	Ghaziabad	Gautam B. Nagar
2019*	11	13	10	13	11	13	12	13
2014	14	11	19	12	13	14	15	24
2009	15	15	23	23	29	16	16	26