Stakes high for Cong in fourth phase

Stakes are high for the Congress in the fourth phase of Assembly elections on Thursday in 53 constituencies across 12 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

The party had won only six seats in this region in 2012 Assembly polls. The fourth phase is crucial for the Congress as its president Sonia Gandhi’s Lok Sabha constituency of Raebareli will also go to polls. 

The Congress is under pressure to win in Raebareli, where its alliance with the Samajwadi Party has collapsed and both parties are fighting each other in two seats – Unchahar and Sareni. The SP, which had won 28 seats in this region last time, is hard-pressed to retain its hold, while the BJP – which had emerged victorious in five seats – is trying to increase its tally. The Bahujan Samaj Party had won 15 seats in 2012.

An estimated 1.86 crore voters from Allahabad, Raebareli, Lalitpur, Jhansi, Jalaun, Fatehpur, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Chitrakoot, Kaushambi and Pratapgarh districts will exercise their franchise in this phase.