UP Assembly Elections: Average Voter Turnout Of 23 Per Cent Recorded Till 11 AM

Lucknow, Feb 14 (PTI) An average voter turnout of 23.03 per cent was recorded till 11 am on Monday in Uttar Pradesh as polling for the second phase of the state assembly elections picked up pace after a slow start.

Voting kicked off in 55 assembly seats spread across nine districts at 7 am.

Additional Chief Election Officer Brahma Dev Ram Tiwari said polling in the state has been peaceful so far.

The first two hours of polling saw few voters reaching polling booths owing to fog and cold conditions. But as the day progressed, more and more voters stepped out of their homes to cast their votes.

As many as 586 candidates are in the fray in this phase. The 55 seats are spread across Saharanpur, Bijnor, Moradabad, Sambhal, Rampur, Amroha, Budaun, Bareilly and Shahjahanpur districts.

According to the Election Commission, Saharanpur recorded a voter turnout of 25.26 per cent till 11 am, Bijnor 24.34 per cent, Moradabad 25.99 per cent, Sambhal 22.95 per cent, Rampur 21.76 per cent, Amroha 22.99 per cent, Budaun 21.87 per cent, Bareilly 20.99 per cent and Shahjahanpur 21.58 per cent.

Samajwadi Party (SP) patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav appealed to voters to support the party.

'I appeal that you lend your valuable support to the Samajwadi Party to help it win with a huge mandate. Ensure victory of SP candidates in the second phase and all other upcoming phases,' Yadav, who is in Delhi, said in a brief video message.

This was the first election-related message to voters from the 83-year-old leader in this poll campaign. Earlier, he had addressed party workers in Lucknow.

Of the 55 seats in which voting is being 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.

Of the 15 seats won by the SP, Muslim candidates registered victory in 10. The areas going to polls in this phase have a sizeable Muslim population influenced by religious leaders of Barelvi and Deoband sects. These areas are considered strongholds of the SP.

The prominent faces in the fray include former minister Dharam Singh Saini who joined the SP shortly before the elections. Saini is trying his luck from the Nakur seat.

Senior SP leader Mohammad Azam Khan is contesting the polls from his stronghold Rampur, while Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna is contesting from Shahjahanpur.

The SP has fielded Mohammad Azam Khan's son Abdullah Azam from the Swar seat. He is pitted against Haider Ali Khan, the heir of the Nawabs of Rampur, who is trying his luck on a ticket from the Apna Dal (Sonelal), a BJP ally.

Haider Ali Khan is the grandson of former MP Noor Bano.

Minister of State for Jal Shakti Baldev Singh Aulakh is contesting from Bilaspur, Minister of State for Urban Development Mahesh Chandra Gupta from Badaun and Minister of State for Secondary Education Gulab Devi from Chandausi.

Former Bareilly mayor Supriya Aron is contesting from Bareilly Cantonment on an SP ticket.

With the elections being held amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Brahmdev Ram Tripathi said all necessary arrangements have been made to ensure free, fair, transparent and Covid-safe polling.

Polling for the first phase of the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls was held on February 10. The counting of votes will be taken up on March 10.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)