Voting for the seventh and final round will be held on March 7 for Varanasi and its eight adjoining districts.
Sources in various parties suggest that two lakh votes of the Patel community, locally known as OBC kurmi, for which mother-daughter led Apna Dal (S) and Apna Dal (K) are competing and over one lakh of OBC Rajbhars would be crucial in deciding the outcome of the assembly seats in Varanasi.
With the Yogi Adityanath government taking credit for cracking down on criminals and making it an election issue, political parties are now having a rethink on aligning with those who have a criminal background but also enjoy influence in their areas.
The curtain came down on rumbustious electioneering over the last two months when assembly polls were also held in four other states - Goa, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur.
Migrants hailing from Gonda, Ambedkar Nagar, Unnao and other parts in Uttar Pradesh were looking forward to reach their homes.
'Publicity looks good, but the reality is different... all sections are feeling harassed'
The Congress is a dismal third in 17 of the 19 constituencies where the party's general secretary (east) campaigned in Uttar Pradesh.
Six migrant workers were killed and 95 others injured in separate road accidents in Uttar Pradesh when they were returning home during the ongoing lockdown to combat the coronavirus outbreak, the police said on Friday. The accidents have taken place in Barabanki, Jalaun, Bahraich and Mahoba districts since Thursday evening, they said.
Just like the Congress, SP and BSP, small pro-Muslim parties are focussed on UP's 20 per cent Muslim voters, knowing that it could make the difference between defeat and victory. But many in the Ghazipur-Bhadohi-Azamgarh-Jaunpur belt insist that there is no such thing as the 'Muslim vote'.
An Mi-17 Helicopter had landed at a field in jungle area in the midst of an active encounter area to evacuate the jawans and brought them to Raipur.
Expelled leader Amar Singh has said he was associated with the Samajwadi Party for 14 long years and if he would open his mouth, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav would land in jail.
Traders and weavers in Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi district, which is famous for hand knit carpets and hand tufted carpets, said they wanted the government to help them regain markets lost due to recession. In the wake of the global economic slowdown, small exporters are being wiped out while large exporters are striving to survive. The traders also said that the government should reconsider the taxes levied on them.
The party also declared sitting MP Praveen Nishad as its candidate from Sant Kabir Nagar
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) defeat in the Bhadohi Assembly by-election in Uttar Pradesh last month was a big blow. Not only was this the first major setback for the Mayawati-led BSP, but also showed the flaws in the first-Lucknow-next-stop-Delhi project.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh might have succeeded in saving a few thousand jobs in corporate India when he met industry captains last week, Jet Airways may well have retained its 1,900 employees, but here in the hinterland of Uttar Pradesh -- famed as the carpet hub of India -- the poor are being retrenched in thousands.
Around 400 to 500 people gathered near the city Eidgah to protest against the amended Citizenship Act amid a bandh call, he said.
Virendra Singh said he went to the embassy on Wednesday for the purpose of visa and was asked to remove his pagdi.
Maneka Gandhi will contest from Sultanpur and Varun Gandhi from Pilibhit.
SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav termed it as a 'ghaatey ka sauda' (loss-making deal) for the saffron party.
During her three-day visit, Priyanka will cover a distance of 100-km by boat in Ganga from Prayagraj to Varanasi.
Other parts of north India also continued to face plummeting temperatures.
Playing for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare competition in October, 17-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 203 off 154 balls, which included 12 sixes and 17 fours against a Jharkhand attack that included out-of-favour India pacer Varun Aaron and Shahbaz Nadeem.
Yadav, a former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, was slated to travel to Kannuaj, around 125 km from the Uttar Pradesh capital, for a tractor rally as part of the 'Kisan Yatra' in support of farmers protesting against the Centre's new agri laws and the 'Bharat Bandh' called by them on Tuesday.
At the age of seven Shahazadi was kidnapped from Mariahun village in Uttar Pradesh. Now, 29 years, she is back in her native village with a Swiss husband to boot.
Only traces of rainfall were recorded in a few areas of the national capital on Thursday which continued to experience sultry weather.
UP BJP spokesperson Manoj Mishra said state BJP vice-president J P S Rathore, in a complaint letter sent to the Chief Election Commissioner, has accused Akhilesh of violating the model code of conduct.
The children, who survived the mishap, also said that they tried to draw the driver's attention but he was in a hurry to clear the crossing, police said.
The polling for the sixth phase on May 12 covers 6 states and one Union Territory.
Given the controversy over Uttar Pradesh's population control moves, Hemant Shivsaran/Rediff.com digs deep to find out how many children BJP MLAs in UP have.
Modi slammed the opposition alleging they "remember farmers once in 10 years -- just before elections".
School was open despite DM's order to the contrary. Orders have been issued to cancel its recognition.
Investigators have arrested at least three dozen students of some prominent UP medical schools revealing links with the Vyapam scam.
In Soraon, despite the tie-ups, Congress, SP, BJP and Apna Dal candidates are contesting against their allies.
This is the first time after 25 years, that Himachal received snowfall on Christmas day, officials said.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday enjoyed a boat ride with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Ganga with a glimpse of the rich cultural heritage of the temple city.
On the eve of the final phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections, Rediff.com's Aslam Hunani reviews the political landscape in the epicentre and beyond.
The water level of major rivers, including the Ganga and the Yamuna, in Uttar Pradesh has crossed the danger mark at several places.
Some eyewitnesses said the driver, who is among the injured, tried to speed across the level crossing even when onlookers tried to draw his attention to the approaching train.
'I want people to know that it doesn't matter where you come from, if you have guts, no one can stop you.' Rinku Singh on why he made the switch from javelin to baseball and finally to WWE.
The Lok Sabha election will be held in 7 phases, beginning on April 11, 2019 and ending on May 19, 2019.
