UP bypolls: 41% polling till 3 pm

"We are repeatedly saying this, but no one is listening to us." The chief electoral officer told PTI that he would look into the allegations. People at some places in Tundla constituency in Firozabad district boycotted the by-election, alleging that no development work had taken place in their area and they would not vote till they get an assurance.

Over 40 per cent of the votes were cast till 3 pm on Tuesday in the ongoing by-elections to seven assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh where 88 candidates are contesting. Polling started at 7 am amid tight security and coronavirus guidelines, and picked up momentum as the day progressed.

Till 11 am, just 18.49 per cent of the voters had exercised their franchise. The figure went up to 41.03 per cent by 3 pm, the Election Commission said. A total of 42.99 per cent of the votes were cast in Bangarmau till 3 pm, 40.30 per cent in Bulandshahr, 41.06 per cent in Deoria, 36.39 per cent in Ghatampur, 42.30 per cent in Malhani, 44.20 per cent in Naugaon Sadat and 40 per cent in Tundla.

Six of these seven seats were held by the Bharatiya Janata Party, while the Malhani seat in Jaunpur district was with the Samajwadi Party. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath appealed to the voters to participate in the "mega festival of democracy". "Everyone should exercise caution and discharge the duty of casting vote," Adityanath tweeted. "Democracy will win, coronavirus will lose." The SP also urged voters to come out of their homes and vote in large numbers. "Those in power and responsible for worried farmers, insecure 'women power', poor health facilities, jobless labourers, collapsed law and order should be given a reply in today's assembly bypolls," it tweeted.

The electoral fortune of 88 candidates, including nine women, will be decided by 24.34 lakh voters, who are eligible to exercise their franchise at 3,655 polling booths spread over 1,754 polling centres. "All preparations to ensure a free, fair and peaceful polling, keeping in mind the coronavirus pandemic, have been made," Chief Electoral Officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said. "Voters will have to adhere to the COVID-19 protocol and maintain safe distance among themselves while casting votes." Adequate security forces have been deployed at the booths, including 371 "critical" ones. Counting of votes will take place next Tuesday.

Meanwhile, BJP candidate Sangeeta Chauhan alleged that "fake voting" was going in the Naugaon Sadat constituency in Amroha district, demanding that those wearing the burqa should remove the face veil so that their identity could be matched. "Fake voting is going on, but the administration is unable to understand this," she told reporters. "We are repeatedly saying this, but no one is listening to us." The chief electoral officer told PTI that he would look into the allegations.

People at some places in Tundla constituency in Firozabad district boycotted the by-election, alleging that no development work had taken place in their area and they would not vote till they get an assurance. With the slogan "vikas nahi, to vote nahi" (no development, no vote), voters at the Rudhau Mustkil booth No. 30 boycotted the polling. A purported video clip surfaced on social media, in which Sub-divisional Magistrate Ekta Singh is talking to the people and asking them to vote.

The Yogi Adityanath government has been facing opposition flak over the law and order situation in the state, particularly after the Hathras and the Balrampur rape-and-murder cases. The Naugaon Sadat seat fell vacant after the death of cabinet minister and former cricketer Chetan Chauhan. The Ghatampur bypoll in Kanpur Nagar district was necessitated due to the death of minister Kamal Rani Varun.

Both the ministers had succumbed to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). S P Singh Baghel, who was the Tundla MLA, was elected to the Lok Sabha, while the Bangarmau seat in Unnao fell vacant following the conviction of Kuldeep Singh Sengar in a rape case. Sengar had won on a BJP ticket, but the party dumped him following a hue and cry after his conviction.

The bypolls to the Bulandshahr, Deoria and Malhani seats were necessitated due to the demise of sitting MLAs Virendra Singh Sirohi, Janmejay Singh and Parasnath Yadav (SP) respectively. Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad's Azad Samaj Party is testing its electoral popularity in Bulandshahr by fielding Md Yameen, as it looks forward to consolidate its hold among the Dalits in the run up to the 2022 assembly polls.

While Bulandshahr has the highest number of 18 candidates, Ghatampur has the lowest number of six contestants. Sixteen contenders are in the fray in Malhani, 14 each in Naugaon Sadat and Deoria, 10 each in Bangarmau and Tundla. Congress state president Ajay Kumar Lallu had said during campaigning that the people had decided to teach the ruling BJP a lesson. "This will be visible in the by-elections. The outcome of these bypolls will mark the commencement of the decline of the BJP and resurgence of the Congress," he had said.

Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati had appealed to the people to vote for her party candidates and send a political message to the rivals. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had said the results of these polls would determine the path of the state politics, adding voters had to choose between "development and destruction".

Facing opposition criticism over the law and order situation in the state, Adityanath had said his government would come out with a law to deal with "love jihad" and used the Hindu funeral chant "Ram naam satya hai" to threaten those who don't respect their daughters and sisters. PTI NAV SMI CORR ABN HMB.