Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh: In Phase-4, it’s 58.09% voter turnout in 2024 versus 58.75% in 2019

High-profile constituencies of Kannauj and Kheri, along with Dhaurhara and Sitapur, record above 60% voting, Kanpur turnout lowest at 53.06%

After a dip in the first three phases, the voter turnout of 58.09% recorded in the fourth phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha election in 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh was close to the 2019 election mark of 58.75 % polling for the same seats.

Tharu tribals dressed up in traditional attire wait to cast their vote for the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections, at Sohni Balaigaon village located on the India-Nepal border in Bahraich on Monday. (PTI PHOTO)

The high-profile constituencies of Kannauj and Kheri, along with Dhaurhara and Sitapur, recorded above 60% voter turnout.

Kannauj, where Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav is in the fray against the sitting BJP MP Subrat Pathak, recorded 61% voter turnout on Monday against 60.80% in 2019.

Kheri, where Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni is locked in a contest with SP candidate Utkarsh Verma, witnessed 64.73 % polling, higher than the 2019 figure of 64.20%. The constituency was in the limelight in connection with the October 3, 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence case.

Dhaurhara constituency, where BJP national vice- president Rekha Verma was pitted against former Lucknow University Students’ Union leader, and SP candidate Anand Bhadouria recorded 64.45% voter turnout against 64.66 % in 2019.

Sitapur, where the BJP’s sitting MP Rajesh Verma is up against the Congress’s Rakesh Rathore and the BSP’s Mahendra Yadav, recorded 61.91% polling against 63.84% in 2019.

Among the 13 constituencies that went to polls in the fourth phase, Kanpur recorded the lowest turnout of 53.06%, which was still higher than 51.39% in 2019.

Farrukhabad witnessed 58.97% polling now against 58.71% in 2019.

The first phase of voting held in eight constituencies of western Uttar Pradesh on April 19 recorded 61.11% turnout against 66.37% in 2019, an over 5% decline.

The second phase in eight Lok Sabha seats on April 26 witnessed 55.19% polling against 61.90% for the same seats in 2019, a dip of 6.71%.

The voter turnout in the third phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha election in 10 constituencies was 57.34 %, 2.58% less than 2019 election mark of 59.92% for the same seats.

Polling started on a slow note on Monday morning but gradually picked up as the day progressed. At 9am, 11.67% votes were polled, rising to 27.12% at 11am, 48.41% at 3pm and 56.35% at 5 pm, according to Election Commission of India data.

The Election Commission’s efforts to increase voter turnout as well as political parties move to mobilise the booth level workers and a fall in day temperatures in some of the constituencies may have led to an increase in the voter turnout on some seats in the fourth phase, said an Election Commission officer.

In the Dadraul assembly bypoll in Shahjahanpur district, 58.48% voter turnout was recorded.

Postal ballots were cast by 35,045 voters in the fourth phase. Those who voted in this manner included electors above 85 years of age, the disabled, essential services and polling personnel.

Webcasting was arranged at 14,126 polling booths for effective supervision by the district election officer, chief electoral officer and election commission of india. The ECI also arranged videography of polling at 5420 booths.

POLLING PEACEFUL: CEO

The fourth phase polling was peaceful, Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer Navdeep Rinwa said, adding that there was no information about any untoward incident in 13 Lok Sabha constituencies.

Complaints received from various constituencies were disposed of by district officers. Adequate paramilitary forces were deployed to conduct the elections peacefully, he said. The responsibility for security of EVM strong rooms has also been given to paramilitary forces, he added.

Meanwhile, in Kannauj, SP’s Akhilesh Yadav accused the BJP of rigging the polls. He claimed there were complaints of voting being disrupted in polling booths. Despite the “dishonesty” in Kannauj, the elections are going well and people are coming out to cast their votes, he said.

BJP candidate Subrat Pathak, too, lodged complaints of bogus voting by SP supporters with the district election officer. In a post on X, Kannauj police said the sector magistrates were deployed at all the polling booths and polling was continuing peacefully.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won all 13 of the Phase-4 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The Samajwadi Party (SP), which failed to win a single seat despite an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party back then, has now tied up with the Congress. The BSP is contesting the election on its own strength, making the contest triangular on all the 13 seats.