New Delhi: Two important fights will mark today’s round of polling in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. While the third phase of polling will take place in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab will undergo polls for its 117 seats in a single phase today. 


In the third phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the much-talked Karhal seat in the Mainpuri district will undergo polls from where Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is contesting the polls.


Karhal 


Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav is contesting the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections from the homeground Karhal seat in the Mainpuri district. This is the first time that Akhilesh will be contesting the Legislative Assembly Polls. Earlier in 2012, he had become the Chief Minister through the Legislative Council route. Sobaran Singh Yadav is the sitting MLA from this constituency as of now. 


To give Yadav a fight in his home ground, the Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded SP Singh Baghel who is a Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice. 


Punjab 


The border state of Punjab will be undergoing polls in a single phase for its 117 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The competition there too is intense. Congress has fielded current Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi as its Chief Ministerial candidate from the Chamkaur Sahib constituency while the Aam Aadmi Party has announced Bhagwant Mann as their CM face. 


Here’s a look at the important seats.


Chamkaur Sahib


Charanjit Singh Channi from the Congress party will be contesting from this SC- reserved seat for the fourth time. He had earlier won the seat in 2007, 2012, and 2017, so the seat is already a home turf for him. The Aam Aadmi Party has fielded Channi’s namesake, Dr Charanjit Singh, from this seat. 


Channi is also contesting the poll from another seat of Bhadaur.


Patiala 


Home ground of former Punjab Chief Minister and ousted Congress Party member, Captain Amarinder Singh is contesting from this constituency, eyeing an easy battle to reserve the seat for the fifth time. He had consecutively won this seat in 2002, 2001, 2012, and 2017. This time he will be in the fight heading his own party Punjab Lok Congress after being ousted by the Congress party. 


The AAP has fielded Ajitpal Singh Kohli while the Congress’ Vishnu Sharma are against Singh. 


Lambi 


The home turf of Akali Dal’s patriarch Prakash Singh Badal is expecting to securely win this seat this time also for the 13th time as he has held the seat since 1997. Due to health constraints, 94-year-old Badal’s campaigning was done by close aide Tejinder Singh Middukhera and his daughter-in-law Harsimrat Badal. 


AAP’s Gurmeet Singh Khudian and Congress’ Jagpal Singh Abul Khurana are against Badal from this seat. 


Jalalabad 


Another safe seat for the Akali Dal, the Jalalabad seat has been held by Sukhbir Singh Badal since 2009. He faces AAP's Jagdeep Goldi Kamboj, BJP's Puran Mujaidia, and Congress' Mohan Singh Phalianwala from this seat. After Badal won the Ferozepur constituency in the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, the Congress had secured the Jalalabad seat in the 2019 bypolls. 


Dhuri 


Aam Aadmi Party’s Chief Minister face Bhagwant Mann is contesting from the Dhuri seat. He will be competing against sitting legislator and Congress party member Dalvir Singh Goldy. Randeep Singh from BJP and Prakash Chandra Gar from SAD will be contesting for this seat. 


Amritsar (East)


This seat will face intense competition as Punjab Congress chief Najot Singh Siddhu will face SAD’s Bikramjit Singh Majithia. The two have been in a battle of words earlier when Majitha called Sidhu a “fraud”. Jeevan Jyot Kaur from AAP and former bureaucrat Jagmohan Singh Raju from BJP have been given a ticket from this seat.