An average voter turnout of 39.07% was recorded till 1 pm 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 7.00 a.m. 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 exercise their franchise.
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 42.44% till 1.00 p.m., Bijnor 38.64%, Moradabad 42.28%, Sambhal 38.01%, Rampur 40.10%, Amroha 40.90%, Budaun 35.57%, Bareilly 39.41% and Shahjahanpur 35.47%.
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,” Mr. Yadav, who is in Delhi, said in a brief video message. This was the 83-year-old leader’s first election-related message to voters 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 had emerged victorious on 10. The areas going to polls in this phase have a sizeable Muslim population influenced by religious leaders of the Barelvi and Deoband sects.
These areas are considered strongholds of the Samajwadi Party.
The prominent faces in the fray in this phase include Dharam Singh Saini, a Yogi Adityanath government minister who had switched to the SP before the polls. Mr. Saini is trying his luck from the Nakur Assembly segment.
Senior SP leader Mohammad Azam Khan has been fielded from his stronghold Rampur, while U.P.'s Finance Minister Suresh Khanna 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 elections was held on February 10. The results will be declared on March 10.
