UP: 54.24% polling in 18 seats, Varanasi betters 2009 figure

Eighteen constituencies in Uttar Pradesh registered a voter turnout of 54.24% in the last and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Monday.

Eighteen constituencies in Uttar Pradesh registered a voter turnout of 54.24% in the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Monday.

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Polling was peaceful in the state. Nearly 31.6 million voters were eligible to exercise their franchise at 31,378 polling stations to seal the electoral fortunes of 328 candidates.

The high-profile Varanasi seat, which saw an electoral fight of BJP’s prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi, AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and Congress’ Ajay Rai, recorded a voter turnout of 55.63% — around 13% more than the 2009 figure of 42.61%.

Azamgarh, another keenly watched constituency, recorded a polling percentage of 56.05. Ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was in the fray in Azamgarh, which has a strong presence of Yadavs and Muslims.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the SP had won six of the 18 seats, followed by the Bahujan Samaj Party (5), Bharatiya Janata Party (4) and the Congress (3).

Five years ago, these seats saw 46.55% polling, which went up to 56.28% in the 2012 assembly elections when the SP was voted to power.