UP: poll campaign likely to gather speed from Feb 1

LUCKNOW: Election campaign is likely to intensify from February 1 in Uttar Pradesh, before the first phase of polling to be held on February 10 for 58 seats in 11 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) may announce permission for public gatherings after January 31 with certain restrictions. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) national president Mayawati has announced to start her party’s election campaign from Agra for the first time through a public meeting. February 2.

The campaigning apparently changed after the election notification on 8 January. Soon after the Election Commission of India (ECI) implemented the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and COVID-19 safety protocols, all parties took to the streets, banning rallies. , public meetings and road-shows, first till January 15 and then till January 31.

When it came to re-emergence, the resource-rich, personality-rich Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was the first to hit the streets from January 21 and many top leaders of the saffron party campaigned door-to-door. Top leaders of other parties, who have retreated, are now planning to resume their campaigns.