Lakhimpur Kheri, which hit the headlines after 8 people were killed in violence during a farmers’ protest last year, goes to polls today. All assembly eight seats in the district are with the BJP at present.
The fourth phase of the Uttar Pradesh polls that commenced on Wednesday morning is crucial in many aspects. For one, Lakhimpur Kheri, where eight people, including four farmers, were killed in violence during the protests against three farm laws, is voting on Wednesday. State capital Lucknow and five seats under the Gandhi family bastion, Rae Bareilly, are also up for grabs.
A total of 624 candidates will vie for 59 seats — from Rohilkhand to the Terai belt and the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh — in the fourth phase.
But the focus will largely be on Lakhimpur Kheri from where Union Minister of Home Ajay Misra is an MP. His son Ashish Misra is the prime accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. He is accused of mowing down four farmers with his SUV during the protests on October 3 last year.
While farmers’ outfits alleged that Ashish Misra was inside a car that ran over the four farmers, the Union minister’s son denied the claims. Ashish was arrested on October 9. He was granted bail on February 10, but it has now been challenged by farmers.
All the eight assembly seats are with the BJP at present. The Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party have retained their contestants from the 2017 polls. In Lakhimpur city, sitting MLA Yogesh Verma will go up against SP’s Utkarsh Verma Madhur. The Congress will be in the fray, hoping its candidate Ravi Shankar Trivedi secures a victory there.
Another important district is Lucknow, where all nine seats will be up for grabs. Former joint director of THE Enforcement Directorate Rajeshwar Singh is contesting his first election from the Sarojini Nagar seat on a BJP ticket. He has been pitted against SP’s Abhishek Mishra, a former professor of IIM.
