Uttar Pradesh polls: Over 57% voting till 5 pm

Over 57 per cent voting was recorded till 5 pm on Sunday in 59 assembly constituencies in the third phase of the elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Polling started at 7 am and continued till 6 pm.

The voting percentage at 5 pm was 57.58 per cent, according to data shared by the Election Commission (EC).

The percentage was 59 per cent in Hathras, 57.41 per cent in Firozabad, 59.11 per cent in Kasganj, 63.58 per cent in Etah, 60.80 per cent in Mainpuri, 54.55 per cent in Farrukhabad, 60.28 per cent in Kannauj and 58.35 per cent in Etawah.

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It was 57.55 per cent in Auraiya, 58.48 per cent in Kanpur Dehat, 50.76 per cent in Kanpur Nagar, 53.84 per cent in Jalaun, 57.71 per cent in Jhansi, 67.38 per cent in Lalitpur, 57.90 per cent in Hamirpur and 62.02 per cent in Mahoba.

As many as 627 candidates are in the fray in this phase, in which over 2.15 crore people are eligible to vote in 16 districts.

In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the polling percentage in these districts was 62.21 per cent, the EC said.

The BJP in 2017 had won 49 of the 59 seats and the Samajwadi Party (SP) had settled for nine. The Congress had got one seat while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) drew a blank.

Among the high-profile candidates are SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who is contesting from the Karhal assembly seat. The BJP has fielded Union Minister S P Singh Baghel against him.

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Akhilesh Yadav's uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav is contesting from his traditional Jaswantnagar seat.

The prominent political leaders who cast their votes on Sunday were SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Dimple Yadav, Shivpal Singh Yadav, Ramgopal Yadav, Congress leader Salman Khurshid, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh and state minister Satish Mahana.

Meanwhile, Kanpur Mayor Pramila Pandey and former BJP office-bearer Nawab Singh have landed in trouble for posting videos in which they are seen casting their vote inside polling booths.

The EC has banned the use of mobile phones inside polling stations.

Pandey took her mobile phone inside the polling booth at Hudson School and clicked a selfie while voting, following which an FIR was lodged against her, a senior official said.

The mayor has shared a video that has gone viral on social media platforms.

District Magistrate Neha Sharma said the Kanpur mayor has violated the rules of the EC by revealing the name of the party she voted for.

Former city president of BJP's Yuva Morcha, Singh, was also allegedly caught while violating rules.

He took a mobile inside a booth and shot a video while casting vote.

In Jhansi, District Election Officer Ravindra Kumar said that according to public complaints, polling started two hours late in the Mauth area of the Garautha assembly constituency.

Directives have been issued to take action against the sector magistrate who was lax in performing his duties and did not inform higher officials, he said.

In Etah, 10 people have been arrested for allegedly casting fake votes in the Aliganj Marhara assembly constituency of the district.

Additional Superintendent of Police Dhananjay Singh Kushwaha said that 10 people have been caught for trying to cast fake votes.

The Samajwadi Party has alleged that one of its agents was beaten up by a BJP worker in Shikohabad in Firozabad district in the presence of police.

The party tweeted from its official Twitter handle, "SP's election agent is being beaten up by BJP people in presence of police at booth number 158 of Shikohabad Vidhan Sabha of Firozabad district."

The SP has asked the EC to cognisance of the matter.

The 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh is being held in seven phases, with the third completed on Sunday. The results are scheduled to be announced on March 10.