Forty millionaires, about three dozen candidates facing criminal charges and some national leaders are trying their luck in the third phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh.

As many as 15 constituencies are going to the polls in the state on Thursday.

While Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi will be looking forward to maintain her winning streak in Rae Bareli, the richest candidate in the third phase, Akhilesh Das Gupta of the BSP, is in the race from Lucknow against BJP's Lalji Tandon.

Gupta is worth around Rs 54 crore.

In the 2004 general elections, the SP alone had grabbed six out of these 15 seats, whereas arch rival BSP won five. The Congress and the BJP won two seats each. However, the contest in Rae Bareli and Lucknow are being keenly watched in the third phase due to their association with the leaders of national importance.

In Lucknow, which has been in the BJP's kitty after 1991, the prestige of the saffron brigade is at stake this time, with stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee opting out of active politics.

However, a tough fight here is likely as BJP's Tandon is facing stiff resistance Akhilesh Das Gupta of BSP, Congress nominee and UPCC president Reeta Bahuguna Joshi and turncoat Nafia Ali of the SP.

Rae Bareli had been a Congress pocket-borough for the past three decades and Sonia Gandhi had won the seat twice in 1999 and 2004. She had also won 2006 by-election by a margin of over four lakh votes.

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