Turn-out in Cantt below expectation
LUCKNOW : The by-elections held on Monday for the Lucknow Cantonment assembly seat saw a below expectation voter turn out of around 28.53 percent till 6pm. However, the bypoll, conducted amidst the tight security, passed off peacefully with no irregularity reported from any of the polling booths, according to district administration officials.
During the voting period, district magistrate (DM) Kaushal Raj Sharma conducted inspection of several polling booths to ensure free and fair by-elections in the Lucknow Cantonment constituency, from where 13 candidates of different political parties were in the fray.
Among the prominent candidates contesting from the seat included former MLA Suresh Tiwari from BJP, Major (retired) Ashish Chaturvedi from SP, Dilpreet Singh from Congress and Arun Dwivedi from BSP.
The fight was entirely between the BJP and others in the assembly constituency which is mostly dominated by
Brahim, Sikh and Punjabi voters.
Since 1991, the saffron brigade has maintained its sway in the constituency, barring in 2012 when Congress candidate, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, defeated the 3-time sitting BJP MLA Suresh Chandra Tewari. Joshi, however, switched sides and joined BJP before 2017 assembly polls and retained the seat as a BJP candidate.
The seat fell vacant after Joshi was elected Member of Parliament from Allahabad constituency on BJP ticket. The BJP has once again fielded its former MLA Suresh Chand Tewari from the constituency. Also, it is the first poll battle for the SP candidate, Major (retd) Ashish Chaturvedi.
A majority of voters who turned up at the polling booths said they voted for a change. “Present condition of our constituency is very bad. With bad roads and poor basic amenities, the living is no less than a struggle here. Hence, we voted for a change,” said Vikas Sharma, a local resident while highlighting problems in the area.