The third phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections is scheduled to be held on February 20 on 59 seats in 16 districts. In the Yadav-dominated area, the Bharatiya Janata Party is once again trying to repeat the charisma of the year 2017. The BJP had captured 49 of the 59 seats in the last elections held in 2017. At the same time, the Samajwadi Party learning from its mistakes during the last elections, has decided to enter the electoral fray with full force this time. In the year 2017, the tussle between Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav had created a split-like situation in the Yadav vote bank as well. This time an attempt has been made to bridge those mistakes.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav is set to face tough challenge in Karhal assembly constituency as the Bharatiya Janata Party by fielding Union Minister of State SP Singh Baghel, a former confidant of Mulayam Singh, has sent a clear message that it intends to give a tough fight to Akhilesh Yadav.

The BJP, by fielding Baghel, has also shown that it intends to work on its time tested social engineering formula of mobilising non-Yadav Other Backward Classes, Dalits and Brahmins as its core vote bank against the SP.   Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022: From CM Yogi Adityanath to Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan, Here are the 7 Key Candidates In Upcoming Polls in UP

The Yadav dominated Karhal assembly constituency has about 1.4 lakh Yadavs.

Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger brother and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia (PSPL) chief Shivpal Yadav had defeated the BJP candidate by a huge margin in the Jaswant Nagar seat, which is considered the strongest seat of the SP.

The SP has once again given the ticket from Jaswantnagar to Shivpal Yadav, while the BJP has fielded Vivek Shakya and the BSP has given ticket to VP Singh. Shivpal is contesting on the SP’s symbol this time and his party has forged a pre-poll alliance with the SP. As per some senior SP leaders, the party wants Shivpal to win with the biggest margin in the state, and have pressed both PSPL and SP workers into action.

Satish Mahana, The seven-time-MLA, who has won continuously from Maharajpur for the last 30 years, seems set for yet another cakewalk. Challenging Satish Mahana’s 30-year-long reign from this seat is Samajwadi Party’s Fateh Bahadur Singh Gill, a political debutant who was arrested by police for protesting outside Mahana’s house in Kanpur on October 2

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav's close relative Hariom Yadav, who recently switched sides from Samajwadi Party (SP) to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), will contest the upcoming assembly polls in the state from his current seat of Sirsaganj in UP's Firozabad. three-time MLA, Hariom Yadav was expelled in February last year for six years for "anti-party activities".

Sarvesh Yadav, once his election strategist, has been fielded by the SP. Pankaj Mishra from BSP and Pratima Pal from Congress are also contesting. If election experts are to be believed, there is a direct contest between the SP and the BJP here. BSP candidate Pankaj Mishra is trying to make the fight triangular.  Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022: From Akhilesh Yadav to SP Singh Baghel, Here is The List of Five Key Candidates in Phase 3 of UP Polls

Less  than a month after the then Kanpur police commissioner Asim Arun posted on social media his decision to quit the police force, which he had served for more than 25 years. the BJP fielded him as its candidate from Kannauj Sadar, one of the toughest reserved constituencies and a Samajwadi Party stronghold. The SP has been holding on to this seat since 1996.

In his first election, Arun is up against three-time MLA Anil Dohrey, who has described him as an outsider and a political tourist. Dohrey strongly pushes the narrative as a contest between one (Arun) who was not with the people and someone (Dohrey) was always accessible. Arun is countering this with the help of a social media campaigns and short video messages released every day.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 17, 2022 03:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).