Uttar Pradesh Election 2017: Key candidates to look out for in first phase of polling

The much awaited political battle of India’s biggest poll exercise is set to start shortly when the first phase of polling begins in Western Uttar Pradesh. Roughly 2.6 crore voters will seal the fate of 839 candidates from top four political parties in the fray, Bharatiya Janata Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party-Congress combine and Rashtriya Lok Dal. The polling exercise includes important political nerve points like, Kairana (Shamli), Noida, Meerut, Agra, Muzaffarnagar, Dadri (Ghaziabad) etc. And the first phase of polling of the king-maker state brings to fray, veteran politicians, multi-millionaires, candidates, strongmen and second generation politicians. Pankaj Singh, son of Home Minister Rajnath Singh has finally managed to get a BJP ticket from Noida this time, another heavyweight to watch out for would be BJP’s controversial leader Sangeet Som who is an accused in Muzaffarnagar riots and is known for his eplosive remarks on ’love jihad’, Kairana ’exodus.’ SP’s Rahul Yadav, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son-in-law will also garner much attention as he contest polls from from Sikandrabad seat in Bulandshaher district. So as you watch the polling exercise unfold through the day at these politically sensitive areas, be sure to watch out for these political heavyweights across party lines.