Highlights

Voting begins today in the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. Polling will be held in 73 assembly constituencies spread across 15 districts in the western part of the state. In the first of the sevenphased staggered elections in the state, a total of 839 candidates are in the fray. The campaigning for this phase saw many firsts. It was for the first time in the poll history of the region that former CM, Mulayam Singh Yadav, now a mere ‘mentor’ for the Samajwadi Party (SP), did not campaign. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi too kept away due to ill-health. UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vicepresident Rahul Gandhi campaigned jointly for alliance.