UP polls first phase: Over 60 pc turnout recorded

Lucknow: Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first phase of polling held on Thursday across 58 assembly constituencies in 11 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Polling closed at 6 pm following a one-hour extension because of COVID-19 protocols. The day passed off peacefully with minor technical snags in EVMs at some places, election officials said.

Additional Chief Election Officer (ACEO) B D Ram Tiwari said, "There were reports of a technical error in EVMs at some places." Those EVMs were being replaced as the reports came in, he added.

On the Samajwadi Party's allegation that poor voters were not allowed to exercise their franchise in Dundukheda village in the Kairana assembly constituency, Tiwari said the district magistrate concerned was asked to look into the matter.

Agra recorded 60.33 per cent polling, Aligarh 60.49 per cent, Baghpat 61.35 per cent, Bulandshahr 60.52 per cent, Gautam Buddh Nagar 56.73 per cent, Ghaziabad 54.77 per cent, Hapur 60.50 per cent, Mathura 63.28 per cent, Meerut 60.91 per cent, Muzaffarnagar 65.34 per cent and Shamli 69.42 per cent, an EC report said.

During the 2017 assembly elections, 63.47 per cent polling was recorded in these constituencies, the report said.

A report from Ghaziabad said a minor skirmish took place between supporters of BJP leader V K Singh and Congress leader Rajan Kant, allegedly when the former addressed media persons and talked about the work done by the BJP within the premises of a polling station, and security personnel had to intervene.

In Bulandshahr, a groom reached the Char Khamba polling station in the Sadar assembly segment to cast his vote before joining his marriage procession. The groom, Balram, after performing the 'Ghudchadi' ceremony, reached the polling station on a motorcycle to cast his vote.

In Muzaffarnagar, a young man was thrashed by BJP MLA Umesh Malik and later handed over to the police for alleged fake voting at a polling centre in Shahpur under the Budhana assembly seat. A purported video of the incident was widely shared social media.

According to a report from Mathura, polling appeared to be slow in the morning because of heavy fog but it finally picked up as the visibility improved during the day.

Though RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary could not reach the polling station in time to cast his vote as he was campaigning, his wife, Charu Chaudhary, exercised her franchise in Mathura.

"There was no untoward incident during the election and COVID-19 norms were strictly adhered to," District Election Officer of Mathura Navneet Singh Chahal said, adding that there was some altercation in the Radhakund area of the Goverdhan seat but it was sorted out by the SDM and the police circle officer.

There was a heated altercation between SP-RLD candidate Sanjai Lathar and Inspector Rakesh Kumar Singh, in-charge of the Mat police station.

"We will lodge a complaint with the Election Commission and the SSP of Mathura alleging that activists of the RLD-SP combine were beaten up by police," Lathar said.

In Mathura too, a groom came to exercise his franchise before taking his bride home after the wedding. The man reached the polling booth directly after his marriage ceremony.

"Pahle matdan, phir jalpan (first vote and then breakfast)," the smiling couple said when asked about their decision.

The electoral fate of 623 candidates, including state ministers Shrikant Sharma, Suresh Rana, Sandeep Singh, Kapil Dev Agarwal, Atul Garg and Chowdhury Lakshmi Narain, was sealed in this phase of the elections which covered the Jat-dominated belt of western Uttar Pradesh from where farmers had participated actively in the stir against the Centre's now-repealed agri laws in the national capital.

In 2017, the BJP had bagged 53 of the 58 seats in the region, while the Samajwadi Party and the BSP had got two seats each. One seat had gone to the Rashtriya Lok Dal.