Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): The first phase of the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly concluded on Thursday recording a 60.17 per cent turnout.
The districts which recorded the highest voter turnout were Shamli with 69.42 per cent, followed by Muzaffarnagar and Mathura at 65.34 per cent and 63.28 per cent respectively. Gautam Buddha Nagar reported only 56.73 per cent voter turnout. Other than Gautam Buddha Nagar, the districts with the lowest reported voter turnout are Ghaziabad, Meerut, Agra with 54.77 per cent, 60.91 per cent and 60.33 per cent respectively. Voting for the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections began at 7 am today.
"Voting for the first phase of UP Assembly elections has been completed successfully. Wherever we got complaints, EVMs and VVPATs were replaced immediately. There was no incident of violence," said Ajay Kumar Shukla, Chief Electoral Officer, Uttar Pradesh.
Today's voting in 58 seats in western Uttar Pradesh held special significance for the BJP as well as the opposition. The jat-stronghold holds significance in the overall results of the polls. In the 2017 assembly elections, the BJP had won 53 of the 58 seats. However, the BJP has had to struggle a lot in western Uttar Pradesh given the controversial farm laws that were eventually repealed.
Voting trends today
When polling started at 7 am, there was a slight slowdown in voting due to cold and fog. But as the day progressed, the queue of voters at the polling booths started getting longer. Till 9 am, 7.9 per cent voters had exercised their franchise. This figure increased to 20 percent by 11 am. By 1, this figure has gone up to 35 per cent and by 3 pm, 48.24 per cent voters had exercised their franchise. The final turnout was 60.17 percent.
The fate of 9 ministers
623 candidates are in the fray in the first phase of elections. These include 9 ministers of the Yogi government including Sugarcane Development Minister Suresh Khanna, Energy Minister Shrikant Sharma, Minister of State for Finance and Medical Education Sandeep Singh, Minister of State for Vocational Education Kapil Dev Aggarwal, Minister of Jal Shakti Dinesh Khatik, Minister of State for Medicine Atul Garg, Minister of State for Forests Anil Sharma, Minister of Livestock Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan, and Minister of State for Food Processing GS Dharmesh.
Second phase on Feb 14
The police had sealed the borders of the state and strict vigilance was underway to maintain peace in 58 constituencies. The second phase of polling for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly is scheduled for February 14. 586 candidates are in the fray for 55 Assembly Constituencies in the second phase, including nine reserved for the Scheduled Castes.
The reserved seats include that of Saharanpur, Bijnor, Amroha (JP Nagar), Moradabad, Bareilly, Rampur, Sambhal (Bhim Nagar), Budaun and Shahjahanpur district. Post the completion of the seven phased elections, the counting of votes will take place on March 10.
