A turnout of over 57 per cent was recorded in 10 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh that went to polls in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday, according to the latest Election Commission figures.
Sambhal witnessed the highest polling at 62.81 per cent, followed by Etah at 59.17 per cent, Mainpuri at 58.59 per cent, Firozabad at 58.22 per cent, Bareilly at 57.88 per cent, Aonla at 57.08 per cent, Hathras at 55.36 per cent, Fatehpur Sikri at 54.93 per cent, Badaun at 54.05 per cent, and Agra at 53.99 per cent, the Election Commission (EC) said.
The average turnout was 57.34 per cent. The figure is expected to be revised later.
The polling began at 7 am ended at 6 pm. More than 1.89 crore voters were eligible to vote in these 10 constituencies. With the end of this phase, 26 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state have voted.
Speaking to reporters, Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said, “The polling was conducted peacefully and no untoward incident was reported.” Some complaints were received from political parties through email which were promptly resolved by the district officials, he said.
BJP MP Santosh Gangwar and his family members after casting their vote in Bareilly on Tuesday.(Image source: PTI)
Rinwa also said that after the polling began, 48 ballot units, 48 control units and 152 VVPATs were changed till 6 pm.
The third phase of elections in UP is important for the family members of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav. Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav is aiming to retain the Mainpuri seat, which she won in a bypoll after the death of her father-in-law. Akshay Yadav, son of SP national principal general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, contested from Firozabad and Aditya Yadav, son of SP national general secretary Shivpal Yadav, made his poll debut from Badaun.
Akhilesh, Dimple, their daughter Aditi Yadav and Ramgopal Yadav cast their vote in Etawah’s Saifai. BJP candidates SP Singh Baghel and Parmeshwar Lal Saini cast their votes in Agra and Sambhal.
In Sambhal, several women voters alleged they were not allowed to cast their vote as officials turned them away saying their Aadhaar cards were fake. Videos surfaced on social media wherein women were seen alleging administration sent them back after they were standing since morning to cast their vote.
The police said legal action is being taken after investigating the matter. It was also alleged that police stopped the voters from entering booths at Owari village of the Asmoli assembly seat and some were even assaulted.
Refuting the charge, a Sambhal police official said, “A group that entered the polling station was taken out so that voting takes place in an orderly manner. No body was beaten up.”
A group of Muslim women near a polling station in Badaun’s Sahaswan assembly segment alleged that they were stopped from casting their vote. They also alleged that the men accompanying them were beaten by police.
District Magistrate Manoj Kumar refuted the charges, saying the people who had already cast their votes were gathering unnecessarily and police had to move them away to maintain law and order.
In Badaun, residents of Dhoranpur village boycotted the polling for the first three hours, saying politicians had ignored their demand for a road. A sub-divisional magistrate reached the village and persuaded the local people to vote. There were poll boycotts also in Nagla Jawahar, Neem Kheria and Nagla Umar villages in Firozabad. However, later with the district administration’s intervention, the villagers cast their votes.
Akhilesh alleged the BJP workers were preparing to loot booths in Mainpuri. “They are detaining opposition people in police stations,” he said without giving details.
He also alleged rigging of votes at some places and said, “Information is coming from some places that the government is using force. It is heard that officers have been deployed outside polling booths.” BJP leader Prem Shankar Shakya alleged that some unidentified persons hurled stones at his vehicle in Mainpuri’s Kusmara area when he was going to vote along with the party’s former district unit chief Pradeep Chauhan and others.
He said his driver was injured in the attack. Superintendent of Police, Vinod Kumar said action will be taken after a complaint is received.
SP’s Badaun candidate Aditya Yadav alleged the administration did not allow party supporters to vote at some booths at Ujhani Sahaswan. “I lodged a complaint with an EC observer and have given proof of police atrocities. We are only getting assurances,” he said, adding that water was poured on an agent’s bag containing voter slips.
In Sambhal, SP candidate Zia-ur-Rehman Barq alleged that a circle officer snatched bags and voter slips from his party’s workers and detained them. He requested the EC to remove the officer from his post immediately. In Bareilly, residents of Manshrampur, Rampura and Nainpur in Aonla seat initially boycotted polling complaining about stray cattle menace. However, following the intervention of state animal husbandry minister Dharampal Singh, the villagers ended their protest and decided to vote.
