UP: 175 candidates file nomination papers for second phase of LS polls

Lucknow: A total of 175 candidates have filed their nomination papers from the eight Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh where polling will be held on April 26, a senior election official said here on Thursday.

Thursday, which was the last day for filing nominations, saw 94 candidates file their papers. Till Wednesday, 81 nominations had been filed.

The highest number of nominations were filed from Ghaziabad at 35 and the lowest from Bulandshahr at 10, said Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa.

He said 21 nominations were filed from Amroha, 22 from Meerut, 16 from Baghpat, 34 from Gautam Budh Nagar, 21 from Aligarh and 16 from Mathura.

Prominent among those who filed their nominations on Thursday are BJP MP Hema Malini, who is seeking a third term from Mathura, and her Congress rival Mukesh Dhangar.

Congress' Amroha candidate Kunwar Danish Ali, BJP's Ghaziabad candidate Atul Garg, and BJP's Gautam Buddha Nagar nominee Mahesh Sharma and Meerut candidate Arun Govil are among the other prominent candidates.

Scrutiny of nomination papers will be done on Friday and the last date for the withdrawal of candidature is April 8.

The counting of votes for Lok Sabha elections will be taken up on June 4.