Polling for the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections for 55 seats in 10 districts would be held tomorrow that will decide the fate of two Ministers, 31 MLAs and 15 former Ministers.

More than 1.70 lakh electorate would seal the fate of 862 candidates in the polling to be held in Sitapur, Barabanki, Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Siddharth Nagar and Basti amidst tight security.

Stakes are high for ruling BSP, Congress, SP and the BJP in the no-holds-barred fight for the 403 assembly seats.

Tomorrow's polling would decide the future of Cabinet Minister, Mr Lalji Verma, Minister of State, Mr Sangram Singh Verma, 31 sitting MLAs, 15 former Ministers and relatives of several MPs including the Union Steel Minister, Mr Beni Prasad Verma.

It would be a litmus test for Congress leaders including Mr Beni Prasad Verma and National Commission for Scheduled Caste Chairman, Mr P.L. Punia, as both of them represent the areas going to the polls.

For Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which had secured maximum of 30 seats out of 55 seats in the 2007 assembly polls, it would be a do or die situation as betterment of performance of rivals would botch political prospects of the party, which was mired in controversies due to corruption cases. Samajwadi Party is also under pressure to perform in the area to increase its tally from 18 seats in the 2007 assembly polls.

The party's performance in the region could help it in catapulting itself to power, SP leaders feel.

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