UP elections: Third phase registers turnout of 57.58% till 5 pm

A total of 627 candidates were in the fray in this phase, considered to be the biggest one, as over 20 million people were eligible to vote in 16 districts.

An average of 57 percent turnout was recorded till 5 pm across 59 assembly constituencies in the third of voting in the seven-phase of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh (UP) on Sunday.

Security personnel guard a polling booth as people stand in queues to cast their votes during the third phase of UP elections, in Saifai, on Sunday. The third phase saw a voter turnout of 57.58% till 5 pm. (HT photo)

While polling, which was held from 7 am to 6 pm, largely remained peaceful, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker was shot at about 400 metres from the polling station in Avadh Nagar locality of Mainpuri City. Police said the accused was arrested later and is believed to be a worker belonging to the Samajwadi Party.

A total of 627 candidates were in the fray in this phase, considered to be the biggest one, as over 20 million people were eligible to vote in 16 districts. According to data shared by the Election Commission, the voting percentage at 5 pm stood at 57.58 per cent.

The average voter turnout in the 16 districts was lower than what it was in the first and second phases, as well as in 2017 assembly general elections when it stood at 62.21% in these areas.

While Lalitpur recorded the highest turnout of 67.38 per cent, Etah registered a polling percentage of 63.08 per cent followed by Mohaba at 62.02 per cent. The lowest voter turnout, at 50.76 per cent, was witnessed in Kanpur Nagar. The district of Firozabad recorded a voter turnout of 57.41 per cent.

The average voter turnout in Hathras district stood at 59% while in Kasganj, it was 59.11%.

“Voting started at 7 am and continued till 6 pm and as per information received from the districts, the average voter turnout by 5 pm stood at 57.58%,” chief electoral officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said, adding that the final turnout figures were bound to go up as voters who were already in the queue even at 6 pm were allowed to cast their vote.

The battle for the Karhal seat in Mainpuri was the focal point of this phase as Samajwadi Party (SP) chief and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav made his assembly poll debut from the constituency. The seat registered a polling percentage of 62.32 per cent.

Mainpuri district holds significance as it has traditionally been an SP stronghold. SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav represents the Mainpuri constituency in Parliament. Karhal has remained a stronghold of the party since 1993 and it was only in 2002 that the seat went to the BJP.

The BJP has fielded Union minister SP Singh Baghel from Karhal seat. A former Uttar Pradesh police sub-inspector, Baghel was once a security officer of former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, who brought him into politics.

In the 2017 assembly polls, SP candidate Sobran Yadav secured 104,000 votes from Karhal, defeating BJP’s Prem Shakya by 38,405 votes.

On the firing incident, additional director general (ADG) of police, Agra Zone, Rajeev Krishna, said: “The incident took place at about 400 metres away from the polling station in Avadh Nagar area of Mainpuri city when polling was about to end. The accused is a Samajwadi Party worker and has been arrested.”

“The injured BJP leader has been hospitalized and is under constant vigil. Police force has also been deployed in the area,” he added.

In Etawah district, the Jaswant Nagar seat is another Yadav stronghold, which the family has won since 1985. Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle Shivpal Yadav has won the seat five times in a row since 1996 and was fielded this year as well. The voter turnout here at 5 pm on Sunday was 58.35%.

Among prominent political leaders who cast their votes are Akhilesh Yadav, Dimple Yadav, Shivpal Singh Yadav, Ramgopal Yadav, Congress leader Salman Khurshid, UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh and UP minister Satish Mahana.

Over 905 companies of central paramilitary forces (CPMF) and state armed police, as well as over 117,000 civil police personnel, home guards, Prantiya Rakshak Dal (PRD) jawans and village guards were deployed for free and fair elections in the poll-bound areas.

In the 2017 elections, the BJP won 49 of the 59 seats while the SP settled for nine. The Congress got one seat, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) drew a blank. The polling percentage in these 16 districts was 62.21 per cent,

Meanwhile, Kanpur mayor Pramila Pandey and former BJP Nawab Singh landed in trouble for posting videos in which they are seen casting their vote inside the polling booth. The Election Commission has banned the use of mobile phones inside polling stations.

A first information report (FIR) was registered against Pandey after she took her mobile phone inside the polling booth at Hudson School, and clicked a selfie, a senior official said.

District magistrate Neha Sharma said the Kanpur Mayor had violated the rules of the Election Commission by revealing the name of the party she voted for.

Likewise, former city president of BJP’s Yuva Morcha was also allegedly caught violating rules. Singh also took a mobile inside the booth and shot a video while casting vote.

The elections in Uttar Pradesh, poll analysts believe, will shape the political direction of the nation in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with over a dozen states set to go to the polls before then.

The results of the state assembly elections will be announced on March 10.

(With agency inputs)