UP Polls Live: Rajnath Boasts of a BJP ‘Aandhi’ in Purvanchal
- Over 1.72 crore people will cast their vote in the penultimate phase of UP elections
- 635 candidates in the fray for 49 seats
- Yogi Adityanath and Mukhtar Ansari among the leaders contesting elections
- 17,926 polling booths have been set up for the voting
As sixth phase polling in Uttar Pradesh is underway, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh appeared confident of a BJP majority in the state. He said,
Thousands of people from Kushinagar and Mau districts in UP cast their votes polling 30 and 27 per cent respectively, according to an Election Commission official.
Till 11 a.m., 25 per cent voting was reported from Ballia, 23 per cent from Maharajganj and Deoria, and 22 per cent from Gorakhpur.
Azamgarh, the Lok Sabha constituency of Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav recorded the lowest turnout of 21 per cent. The SP patriarch did not campaign in this constituency. Meanwhile, the second highest turnout of voters were seen in Mau where mafia don turned politician Mukhtar Ansari was fielded by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Voter turnout in the sixth phase of UP elections 2017 recorded at 23.28 percent till 11 am.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has landed in Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi. He is scheduled to address public meetings in Jaunpur and Varanasi today. He will also offer prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple and the Kaal Bhairab temple shortly.
Yogi Adityanath casts his vote at booth no. 3705 in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.
Speaking outside the polling booth after casting his vote, he said
Police patrolling has intensified along interdistrict borders and barriers have been erected on highways to keep an eye on movements of vehicles.
The 84 km-long Indo-Nepal border has been sealed by Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and only emergency vehicles will be allowed to cross the border, District Electoral Officer Virendra Kumar Singh said.
Cameras have also been installed on the Sonauli Indo-Nepal Border of Maharajganj district on to prevent illegal movement of people during polling.
Over 1.72 crore voters will on Saturday decide the fate of 635 candidates in the fray for 49 seats in the sixth phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer T Venkatesh said 17,926 polling booths have been set up for the voting in the penultimate round in the following seven districts:
- Mau
- Ballia
- Azamgarh
- Deoria
- Kushinagar
- Maharajganj
- Gorakhpur
Arrangements have been made to ensure free and fair polling.
In the fray in the penultimate phase are many state leaders, including BJP’s Swamy Prasad Maurya (Padrauna seat), former UP BJP chief Surya Pratap Shahi (Pathardeva), BJP's Gorakhpur MP Mahant Adityanath and Mukhtar Ansari, the don-turned-politician contesting the Mau seat from behind the bars.
Voting will also be held for the Azamgarh assembly seat. The parliamentary constituency by the same name is represented in the Lok Sabha by former state CM Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Gorakhpur has a maximum of 127 candidates for nine seats while the minimum seven are contesting Mohammadabad Gohna seat in Mau. As many as 175 Independents are also in fray.
Of the total candidates in this phase, 126 have criminal cases against them whereas 160 are millionaires.
(With PTI, IANS and ANI Inputs)
