Lucknow: The first round of polling in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha election on Thursday April 11 logged a voter turnout of nearly 60 per cent, even as the day saw high-profile events of nomination being filed by Union Minister Smriti Irani in Amethi and Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli.
Polling was held for the eight seats of Gautam Budda Nagar, Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, Kairana, Baghpat, Meerut, Bijnore and Saharanpur. The day passed off largely peacefully except for a scuffle in Raulpur Gujran of Shamli in Kairana constituency, after which the personnel of the paramilitary force opened in the air to disperse the crowd.
Reports said trouble began after some people alleged that the polling staff had asked them to vote for a particular candidate, and they returned without casting their vote. Soon a crowd collected at the polling station located in a primary school and the people protested against the staff.
As things appeared going out of hand, the paramilitary personnel opened fire, after which the crowd dispersed. In another incident in Kairana, two Dalit voters alleged they were turned away from the polling booth because of their caste. Authorities, however, said the men were turned away, as they did not carry their voter ID cards.
The BSP was quick to allege the police was stopping Dalit voters from reaching polling booths and demanded the immediate intervention of the Election Commission. Bogus voting charge In Muzaffarnagar, BJP candidate and former Union minister Sanjeev Balyan alleged attempts were being made to cast bogus votes as faces of “burqa-clad” voters were not being verified by officials.
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He said he will demand a re-poll if his concerns were not addressed. Baliyan is facing the RLD president Ajit Singh from Muzaffarnagar. Voting had started on a brisk note with people forming long queues in the morning, with the rush diminishing a little towards midday.
Among the contenders in fray in the first phase are three Union Ministers — Gen VK Singh (Ghaziabad), Satyapal Singh (Baghpat) and Mahesh Sharma (Gautam Buddha Nagar), RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary (Baghpat), Raghav Lakhanpal and Iqbal Masood (Saharanpur). Communal polarisation is expected to play a big role in deciding the outcome in these seats, all of which had gone to the BJP in the 2014 lection.
Nominations filed Meanwhile, Sonia Gandhi and Union Minister Smriti Irani filed their nominations for the election scheduled on May 6 in Rae Bareli and Amethi, respectively.
In Amethi, Smriti Irani filed her nomination amid fanfare and a long roadshow, a day after Congress president Rahul Gandhi did so. She and her husband Zubin Irani performed puja before the nomination and then proceeded on a roadshow, accompanied by UP CM Yogi Adityanth.
Speaking at a meeting, Yogi said Rahul Gandhi had not done justice to his parliamentary constituency Amethi while Smriti Irani always remained concerned about the town’s development. Irani said the fact the Congress President was forced to contest from two LS seats indicated he was unsure of his victory in Amethi.
In neighbouring Rae Bareli, Sonia Gandhi filed her nomination after a huge procession through the city. She was accompanied by Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Robert Vadra and members of the Vadra family. They earlier performed a puja at the Congress office. After filing her nomination, Sonia Gandhi visited the home of late Maulana Ali Miyan, a renowned cleric. She also held a meeting with party workers.
Speaking at a meeting later in the day, Rahul said there had been many people in Indian history who had the arrogance to believe they are invincible and bigger than the people of the country, and Modi too was among them. He alleged Modi had done nothing for the people in the past five years and his invincibility will be there for all to see after elections.
