Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh recorded a voter turnout of over 62% on Monday in the second phase of the Assembly. Polling across 55 constituencies in nine districts got off to sluggish start at 7 am due to the cold and fog at several places. But the pace picked up after a couple of hours. The constituencies in the second phase are spread across Saharanpur, Bijnor, Moradabad, Sambhal, Rampur, Amroha, Budaun, Bareilly and Shahjahanpur districts. Altogether 586 candidates are in the fray in this phase.
Saharanpur recorded a turnout of over 67%, Bijnor 61.48%, Moradabad 64.88%, Sambhal 56.93%, Rampur 60.30%, Amroha 66.19%, Budaun 55.91%, Bareilly 57.88% and Shahjahanpur 55.25%. The same districts had recorded an average turnout of 65.53% in the 2017 Assembly polls and 63.13% in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. A turnout of 62.4% was recorded in the first phase of the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls on February 10.
The opposition Samajwadi Party alleged that a person voted for the party in Saharanpur but the vote was wrongly recorded for the BJP. Additional Chief Election Officer Brahma Dev Ram Tiwari said the information was found to be false by teams that went to the booth. He said the Election Commission has also taken note of another complaint that members of the Yadav community were not allowed to cast their votes. It had found no truth so far in a complaint by BJP leader JPS Rathore, who alleged fake voting by burqa-clad women. “A report has been sought from the district magistrate,” Tiwari said.
As the polling got under way, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders appealed to the people to vote in large numbers in the state. SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has stayed away from campaigning, also sent out a brief video message to voters. “I appeal that you lend your valuable support to the Samajwadi Party to help it win with a huge mandate,” the 83-year old leader, who is now in Delhi, said.
Of the 55 seats in which voting was held in the second phase, the BJP had won 38 in the 2017 Assembly polls, the SP bagged 15 and the Congress two. The SP and the Congress had contested the last assembly elections together.
Several areas that went to the polls in this phase have a sizeable Muslim population influenced by the Barelvi and Deoband sects, and are considered strongholds of the SP. Prominent candidates include former minister Dharam Singh Saini who joined the SP shortly before the elections and is trying his luck from Nakur. Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna is contesting from Shahjahanpur. Senior SP leader Mohammad Azam Khan is contesting from his stronghold Rampur and his son Abdullah Azam from the Suar seat. The counting of votes is on March 10.
Goa reports 79% voting
Goa on Monday registered a very high voter turnout of 78.94% in polling for the 40 Assembly seats which passed off peacefully with no untoward incident reported from any part of the state which witnessed a multi-cornered contest, officials said. Electoral fate of 301 candidates were locked in EVMs which will be opened on March 10 for counting. Chief Electoral Officer Kunal said the highest voting was registered in the Sankhalim constituency in North Goa at 89.61%, while the lowest voter turnout was 70.20% in Benaulim in South Goa. He said the overall voting percentage was 78.94.
62.5% turnout in Uttarakhand
People in the hill state of Uttarakhand voted in good numbers as 62.5% turnout was reported yesterday. The polling percentage in the 2017 assembly elections in the state was 65.56. The BJP and the Congress are locked in a straight fight in most of the seats even as the Aam Aadmi Party is trying its best to make it a triangular contest. The Uttarakhand Assembly elections have 632 candidates in fray as the state voted in a single phase yesterday.
Uttarakhand has seen 11 chief ministers in the last two decades, and has voted out the incumbent government in every Assembly election since the state's formation in 2000. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami of the BJP on Monday said people in the state have created history by voting in huge numbers. “I hope that the new government will work for a golden future of Uttarakhand,” ANI quoted Dhami as saying.
