57.58 turnout in UP's 13 constituencies

Voter turnout for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh which went to the polls Monday was recorded at 57.58 per cent, slightly lower than in2014. Election officials said the final percentage in the fourth phase of polling is expected to go up as there were still people in queues at polling booths after closing time.

At the end of this phase, polling is over in 39 of the state’s 80 Lok Sabha seats. In 2014, the turnout was 58.39 per cent over the same 13 UP constituencies.

"Polling was peaceful," the state's Chief Electoral Officer L Venkateshwar Lu said. But he held out the possibility of a repoll in some booths in Shahjahanpur, where the VVPAT machines failed and it took over two hours to repair them.

Opposition Samajwadi Party alleged that several electronic voting machines malfunctioned and their supporters in Kannauj being stopped by the police from voting. It has also urged Election Commission to remove Uttar Pardesh's police chief O P Singh from the post, alleging that he had "favoured" the ruling BJP. SSP president Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav is contesting from Kannauj.

It is the only seat among the 13 that that did not go to the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2014 elections. The polling percentage till 6 pm was 50.87 per cent in Shahjahanpur, 63 per cent in Khiri, 57.49 per cent in Hardoi, 56.20 per cent in Misrikh, 59.33 per cent in Unnao, 59.37 per cent in Farrukhabad, 56.46 per cent in Etawah, 59.48 per cent in Kannauj, 51.09 per cent in Kanpur, 55.80 per cent in Akbarpur, 56.58 per cent in Jalaun, 63 per cent in Jhansi and 60.91 per cent in Hamirpur.

In Nighasan assembly constituency, where a bye-election was held Monday, the turnout was 62 per cent. In Kannauj, SP representative Guddu Saxena complained to the election observers that the district administration had stopped some party leaders and workers from moving out of their homes.

In Kanpur, BJP workers allegedly tried to barge into a polling booth and clashed with the police. A case was then registered against local BJP leader Suresh Awasthi and six others, Kanpur District Magistrate Vijay Vishwas Pant said.

There were reports of EVMs developing snags in Bidhauna area under the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat, leading to polling being suspended for over an hour. Complaints of EVM malfunctioning were also reported from Etawah, with voters saying they had to wait for hours at polling booths in Tilak Mahavidyalaya, Sahupur, Ajitmal and Dalelnagar to cast their vote.

Venkateshwar Lu said there may be a repoll at some Shahjahanpur polling booths where the paper trail machines took more than two hours to repair. He said a decision will be taken Tuesday after a meeting of observers, returning officer and candidates.

A woman was allegedly beaten up in Ekghara village of the Achalda police station area for not voting for the SP candidate. The Auraiya Superintendent of Police has ordered an FIR against a man who allegedly carried his mobile phone into a polling booth, using it to post on social media a picture that showed him casting his vote.

In Hardoi, an elderly woman complained that the presiding officer at Jamkara booth under Sandila area forcibly pressed the button in front of the Bahujan Samaj Party symbol, a report said. The sector magistrate handed over the official to the police, who are investigating the complaint.

Election Commission officials said there were reports of boycott calls in areas in Unnao, Kannauj, Lalitpur and Hardoi. But local administration officials convinced the people to come out a vote. On four of the 13 seats -- Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Mishrikh and Etawah -- the BJP has opted for new faces.

In the BSP-SP alliance, the BSP has fielded six candidates, and the SP seven. The BSP is contesting from Shahjahanpur (SC), Misrikh (SC), Farrukhabad, Akbarpur, Jalaun (SC) and Hamirpur while the SP has fielded candidates in Kheri, Hardoi (SC), Unnao, Etawah, Kannauj, Kanpur and Jhansi. The Congress has fielded candidates for 12 seats, leaving Kannauj unchallenged.

Apart from Simple Yadav, other prominent candidates in this phase are former Union ministers Salman Khurshid (Farrukhabd) and Sriprakash Jaiswal (Kanpur) of the Congress, UP minister Satyadev Pachauri (Kanpur), BJP’s Sakshi Maharaj (Unnao) and Annu Tandon of the Congress (Unnao). PTI NAV SAB DPB ASH

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