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UP has only 1,037 candidates this time

The number of candidates in the fray for the 85 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh has come down by two-thirds when compared to the 1996 poll.

Figures released by the state election directorate show that a total of 3,297 candidates had contested the 1996 election. This time, however, the number has plummeted to 1,037.

The decline, obviously, is the result of the Election Commission's restrictions to eliminate non-serious candidates from the poll arena.

Last time, the maximum number of candidates in any constituency was 79 -- in Gonda. This year, it's 24 -- in Agra.

While Hathras, with 12 candidates, saw the minimum number of contestants last elections, this year it is Lakhimpur Kheri, with just five.

Another notable feature of Lakhimpur Kheri is that there is no Independent in the fray. Bharatiya Janata Party candidate G L Kanujia, who is seeking re-election, thus, has only party candidates to contend with.

The 'fray-details' in UP's major constituencies are: Allahabad and Shahjahanpur (21 candidates each), Hapur and Aligarh (19 each) Jalesar and Khalilabad (18 each), Meerut and Pratapgarh (17 each), Kaiserganj, Rae Bareli, Amroha, Sambhal and Muzaffarnagar (16 each), Shahabad and Etah (15 each), Phulpur, Garhwal, Kanpur, Bilhaur, Etawah and Lucknow (14 each), Ferozabad, Balrampur, Amethi, Sultanpur, Baghpat, Saharanpur, Chandauli and Varanasi (13 each), Moradabad, Ghazipur, Ballia, Machlishahr, Bareilly, Banda, Bahraich, Hamirpur and Faizabad (12), Chail, Jaunpur, Ghosi, Barabanki, Salempur, Nainital and Mohanlal Ganj (11), Gorakhpur, Deoria, Unnao, Kairana and Akbarpur (10), Lalganj, Tehri, Padrauna, Maharajganj, Ghatampur, Hardoi, Bijnaur, Haridwar and Saidpur (9), Misrikh, Khurja, Robertsganj, Fatehpur, Budaun, Basti and Bansgaon (8), Farrukhabad, Aonla and Domriaganj (7), Almora (6) and Lakhimpur Kheri (5).

UNI

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