Polling began for the first phase of politically-crucial Uttar Pradesh assembly elections 2017 at 7 am on Saturday morning. In this phase, BJP, SP and BSP will fight to stake claim at 73 constituencies of the western UP.

Nearly 2.6 crore people in the poll-bound region are eligible to vote in the first of the seven phases of high-stake Assembly elections, seen as a litmus test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nearly three-year rule.

839 candidates, including from main contenders BJP, BSP, allies Congress and Samajwadi party, RLD as well independents, are in the fray from the seats in 15 districts where 26,823 polling stations have been set up.

Among the electorate are 1.17 crore women and 1,508 belonging to third gender category. The largest constituency in terms of electorate is Sahibabad, while Jalesar is the smallest.

The maximum number of 26 candidates are in fray from Agra South, while the least number of aspirants are in Hastinapur which has six candidates.

The excise department has set up check posts at inter-state borders as well as along the border with Nepal to check distribution of liquor to voters during elections.