Uttar Pradesh: The voting percentage on Sunday till 5 p.m. in the third phase Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh was 57.58 per cent, the Election Commission said. In Uttar Pradesh, third phase polling was held in 59 Assembly seats spread over 16 districts. Lalitpur district recorded the highest polling at 67.37 per cent followed by Etah with 63 per cent, and Mahoba 62.01 per cent till 5 p.m. Kanpur Nagar district reported lowest turnout at 50.88 per cent till 5 p.m.
Other districts where polling was held include Auraiya which registered 57.42 per cent, Etawah (58.33 per cent), Farrukhabad (54.55 per cent), Fizozabad (57.35 per cent), Hamripur (57.89 per cent), Hathras (58.95 per cent), Jaluan (53.87 per cent), Jhansi (57.52 per cent), Kannauj (60.20 per cent), Kanpur Dehat (58.50 per cent), Kasganj (59.18 per cent), and Manpuri, which registered 60.82 per cent polling till 5 p.m.
In the 2017 Assembly elections, the BJP had won 49 of the 59 seats while the SP had settled for nine. The Congress had got one seat while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) drew a blank. Among the high-profile candidates is Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav who is contesting from Karhal assembly seat. The BJP has fielded Union minister S P Singh Baghel against him. Akhilesh Yadav's uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav is contesting from his traditional Jaswantnagar seat.
The prominent political leaders who cast their votes on Sunday were SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Dimple Yadav, Shivpal Singh Yadav, Ramgopal Yadav, Congress leader Salman Khurshid, UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh and UP minister Satish Mahana. Meanwhile, Kanpur Mayor Pramila Pandey and former BJP office-bearer Nawab Singh have landed in trouble for posting videos in which they are seen casting their vote inside the polling booth.
Pandey took her mobile phone inside the polling booth at Hudson School and clicked a selfie while voting following which an FIR has been lodged against her, said a senior official. The Election Commission has banned the use of mobile phones inside polling stations. The mayor has shared a video that has gone viral on social media platforms.
District Magistrate Neha Sharma said the Kanpur Mayor has violated the rules of the Election Commission by revealing the name of the party she voted for. Former city president of BJP's Yuva Morcha was also allegedly caught while violating rules. Singh took a mobile inside the booth and shot a video while casting vote. The 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases. The results are scheduled to be announced on March 10.
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(With inputs from agency)
