Lucknow: Polling in eight parliamentary constituencies of Uttar Pradesh began at 7 am on Friday in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election.
Among the 91 candidates in the fray in this phase are actor-turned-politicians Hema Malini, seeking a third term from Mathura on a BJP ticket, and Arun Govil, who portrayed the role of Lord Ram in the famed television serial "Ramayan".
According to Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa, the polling will continue till 6 pm.
Voting is taking place in the Amroha, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh and Mathura constituencies.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Govil from his native place Meerut, Atul Garg from Ghaziabad, and Mahesh Sharma from Gautam Buddh Nagar.
Danish Ali of the Congress is contesting the polls from Amroha.
Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of 80 parliamentary constituencies among all states and polling will be held here in all seven phases of the election.
Staggered over seven stages, the first phase of the general election saw voting in eight constituencies of the state on April 19.
With the ruling NDA, the INDIA bloc, and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) fielding their candidates, a three-cornered contest is on the cards.
The stakes are high for the BJP as of the eight constituencies where polling is underway, it had won seven in the 2019 election while the BSP had bagged Amroha.
There are more than 1.67 crore voters, 7,797 polling stations, and 17,704 polling booths in these eight Lok Sabha constituencies.
According to the Uttar Pradesh Police, 6,841 inspectors and sub-inspectors, 39,642 head constables and constables, and 28,784 home-guard personnel, along with 60 companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and 239 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), have been deployed to ensure security.