UP Assembly Polls: 48.41% Voter Turnout Recorded Till 3 PM

In the fourth phase of Indian general elections, Uttar Pradesh recorded 48.41% voter turnout by 3 pm. Notable constituencies include Kannauj, where Akhilesh Yadav is contesting, and Kheri, with Union minister Ajay Mishra seeking a hat-trick. Despite rain in Lakhimpur Kheri, voters participated enthusiastically. SP's Yadav alleged rigging in Kannauj, while BJP accused SP of booth capturing. A bypoll was also held in Dadraul assembly constituency, with 47.58% turnout recorded.

A voter turnout of 48.41 per cent was recorded till 3 pm on Monday in Uttar Pradesh where polling is underway in 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in the fourth round of the seven-phase general elections.

Polling began at 7 am and is scheduled to end at 6 pm.

Till 3 pm, 48.41 per cent voters had exercised their right to franchise, according to Election Commission (EC) figures.

Akbarpur parliamentary constituency has recorded 46.36 per cent polling, Bahraich 49.10 per cent, Dhaurahra 54.05 per cent, Etawah 46.19 per cent, Farrukhabad 49.17 per cent, Hardoi 47.99 per cent, Kannauj 51.73 per cent, Kanpur 41.44 per cent, Kheri 53.87 per cent, Misrikh 47.01 per cent, Shahjahanpur 44.21 per cent, Sitapur 52.87 per cent and Unnao 46.56 per cent, according to EC data.

The keenly watched seats in this phase of polls in the state include Kannauj, from where Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav is seeking re-election, and Kheri, from where Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni, whose son is an accused in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, is eyeing a hat-trick.

There are 130 candidates in the fray in these parliamentary seats.

A bypoll is also being held for the Dadraul assembly constituency in Shahjahanpur district. The seat fell vacant following the death of BJP MLA Manvendra Singh on January 5 after a prolonged illness.

There are 10 candidates in the fray in Dadraul, which recorded 47.58 per cent polling till 3 pm, according to the commission.

In Bahraich, the first vote was cast by a physically-challenged voter.

District Magistrate and District Election Officer Monica Rani said, ''The first vote of Bahraich was cast by a 'divyang' (physically-challenged) voter, after which all of us administrative officers exercised our franchise.'' ''Today along with 'divyang' voters, a large number of members of the Tharu tribe and transgender community also exercised their franchise,'' the official said.

In Lakhimpur Kheri, voters turned up at polling booths to cast their votes despite rains.

Meanwhile, in Kannauj, SP's Akhilesh Yadav accused the BJP of rigging the polls.

Yadav claimed there were complaints of voting being disrupted in polling booths. Despite the ''dishonesty'' in Kannauj, the elections are going well and people are coming out to cast their votes, he said.

''As soon as I arrived, the goons ran away from the booths,'' claimed the SP chief who reached Chhibramau in Kannauj district.

The SP chief also met police personnel with whom BJP workers allegedly misbehaved and enquired about their well-being.

In a post on X, the state unit of the BJP alleged that in the Bidhuna assembly segment of Kannauj Lok Sabha seat, SP goons were not allowing those wanting to vote for the BJP to cast their votes and were indulging in booth capturing along with the presiding officer and police.

In Etah district, at Gautam Buddha Inter College in Aliganj tehsil, part of the Farrukhabad Lok Sabha constituency, District Magistrate Prem Ranjan Singh took an elderly woman voter on a wheelchair to cast her vote. Etah Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rajesh Kumar Singh was also present on the occasion.

Of the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies, the BJP has reposed its faith in 11 sitting MPs, while it has fielded two new candidates -- Ramesh Awasthi from Kanpur and Anand Kumar from the Bahraich-SC seat.

From the INDIA bloc, the SP has fielded candidates on 11 Lok Sabha seats in this phase, while the Congress has fielded candidates on two seats -- Kanpur (Alok Misra) and Sitapur (Rakesh Rathor).

Four BJP candidates -- Mishra (Kheri), Rekha Verma (Dhaurahra), Mukesh Rajput (Farrukhabad), and Devendra Singh alias Bhole (Akbarpur) -- are eyeing a hat-trick, while Rajesh Verma is eyeing a fifth term in the Lok Sabha from Sitapur.

Ashok Kumar Rawat and Ram Shankar Katheria are eyeing a fourth term from Misrikh (SC) and Etawah (SC), respectively. Sitting MPs from Hardoi (SC) Jai Prakash and from Unnao Sakshi Maharaj are eyeing a sixth term.

More than 2.46 crore people are eligible to vote in this phase in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)