UP polls: Over 46 per cent polling till late noon
Brisk polling was recorded in the second phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls with 46.2 per cent of the total 1.92 crore electorate casting their vote till the late noon amidst sporadic incidents of violence.
"Polling started at 7 am and till 3 pm, 46.2 per cent polling was registered in 59 seats spread over 9 districts amid tight security arrangements," Election Commission officials said here. Stray incidents of violence were reported in some districts.
In Dakshin Tola area in Mau district, police used force when a large number of people gathered outside a polling station indulged in unruly behaviour. Unconfirmed reports said six persons were injured in the firing.
Police also used force in Mahaveer Akhara hamlet in Rasra area in Ballia district after some local residents indulged in slogan shouting.
There were reports of voters boycotting polls at a number of places including in Bheeta in Ballia district and Hathiya in Azamgarh districts, besides minor complaints related to problems with electronic voting machines (EVM).
Maximum 53 per cent voting was registered in Ghazipur district while a minimum of 46 per cent was registered at Gorakhpur, Ballia and Azamgarh, they said.
The voters will seal the fate of 1,098 candidates in the polling which is being held in Sant Kabir Nagar, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Azamgarh, Mau, Ballia and Ghazipur, Chief Electoral Officer Umesh Sinha said.
The second phase would seal the fate of many senior leaders, including speaker Sukhdeo Rajbhar, Revenue Minister Phagu Chauhan, state presidents of BSP and BJP, deputy leader of SP Ambika Chaudhary, 31 MLAs and 24 former ministers.
Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rajbhar is in fray as BSP candidate from newly-created Deedarganj seat in Azamgarh district, whereas deputy leader of SP in Assembly Ambika Chaudhary is seeking re-run from Phephna in Ballia.
Prestige of state presidents of BSP and BJP is also at the stake in this phase. While BSP state president and cabinet minister Swami Prasad Maurya is contesting from Padrauna seat in Kushinagar, BJP state president Surya Pratap Shahi is trying his luck from newly-created Pathardeva seat in Deoria district.
Stakes are high for ruling BSP, Congress, SP and the BJP in the no-holds-barred fight for the 403 Assembly seats in the seven-phase polls.
A total 1098 candidates are in the fray, including 1,021 men and 76 women.
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