The fifth phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections saw a voter turnout of 54.53%, data from the Election Commission showed. Voting was held for 61 seats across 12 districts.
Around 2.24 crore people voted to choose from 692 candidates, including Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.
Amethi, Raebareli and Ayodhya are the major districts that went to polls on Sunday. Voting was also held in Kaushambi, Sultanpur, Bahraich, Chitrakoot, Pratapgarh, Prayagraj, Barabanki, Gonda and Shravasti districts.
Besides Maurya, others ministers in the fray are Siddharth Nath Singh, Rajendra Singh, Nand Gopal Gupta Nadi and Ramapati Shastri. Congress leader Aradhana Mishra Mona and Union minister Anupriya Patel’s mother Krishna Patel are also contesting the polls.
On Sunday, Additional Chief Electoral Officer of Lucknow BD Ram Tiwari said polling was being done peacefully at all places but added that there have been reports of glitches in electronic voting machines at some booths, reported ANI.
In an update, he said that the glitches have been fixed.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged voters to exercise their franchise and cast their valuable vote.
Meanwhile, several candidates, including Maurya, Samajwadi party leader Maharaji Devi and Jansatta Dal Loktantrik’s Raghuraj Pratap Singh, cast their votes.
“I appeal to the people to vote in as many numbers as possible,” Maurya said. “We [the Bharatiya Janata Party] will secure 300+ seats and form the government.”
Devi is the wife of former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape in November.
After casting her vote, she said that she will win and focus on development like her husband.
The elections to 403-seat Uttar Pradesh Assembly have already been held on February 10, February 14, February 20 and February 23. Voting for the remaining phases will take place on March 3 and March 7.
After the completion of the fifth phase, Uttar Pradesh will have voted on 292 seats in the Assembly.
Also read:
- Why many who backed the BJP in 2017 are now rooting for change in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti
- Fact check: What did Amit Shah get wrong (and right) about development in UP under Adityanath?
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