Polling off to slow start, picks up pace as fog clears
Polling peaceful in 37 constituencies of Meerut, Saharanpur divisions. A few complaints of EVMs malfunctioning, slow voting and scuffle between supporters
MEERUT: Polling in 37 assembly constituencies spread over eight districts of Meerut and Saharanpur divisions remain peaceful in the first phase of voting for the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections on Thursday.
There were, however, a few complaints of electronic voting machines (EVMs) malfunctioning, slow voting and scuffle between supporters of the Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal (SP-RLD) alliance and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP had won 33 of these 37 seats in the 2017 UP assembly elections. The SP had bagged only two seats, the BSP and the RLD won one each five years ago.
The eight districts in which the voters exercised their franchise are: Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Baghpat, Meerut, Hapur, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Bulandshahr.
Polling started at 7am on Thursday. In the first eight hours (till 3pm), the average voter turnout in seven assembly seats of Meerut district was 48.21%.
It was 52.17% in Muzaffarnagar (six constituencies), 52% in Shamli (three seats), 50.81% in Bulandshahr (seven seats), 50.61% in Baghpat (three seats) and Hapur 52% (three seats) till 3pm.
Polling was slow in the first two hours because of dense fog, but it picked up gradually as sunlight filtered through.
Later, the average percentage of voting on all seats in the respective districts was: Shamli 69.42%, Muzaffarnagar 65.34%, Meerut 60.91%, Baghpat 61.35%, Ghaziabad 54.77%, Hapur 60.50%, Gautam Buddh Nagar 56.73% and Bulandshahr 60.52%, according to the office of the Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer.
The BJP and SP-RLD alliance candidates engaged in altercation and manhandling in connection with at least two incidents of alleged bogus voting.
SP-RLD alliance candidate from Shamli Prasann Chaudhary reached the Hindu Kanya Inter College booth on a complaint of bogus voting by a teenage girl. He had an altercation with BJP supporters, which also led to mild scuffle. Later, officials rushed additional forces and the situation was controlled.
In a similar incident, alliance supporters complained of bogus voting at Bhadoli village of Kithore constituency in Meerut district.
The SP-RLD alliance and BJP supporters came face to face but police dispersed them and controlled the situation.
Complaints of EVM malfunctioning, polling officials misbehaving with voters, bogus voting and supporters of candidates stopping dalits and other were reported from Anoopshahar (Bulandshahr), Kithore (Meerut), Sikandrabad (Bulandshahr), Sardhana (Meerut), Kairana (Shamli), Baghpat and Syana (Bulandshahr) constituencies.
The Samajwadi Party’s twitter handle and Akhilesh Yadav himself tweeted about “deliberate slow voting, EVMs malfunctioning, voters returning from polling centres without casting their votes.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday urged the Election Commission to take immediate action wherever there are allegations of EVM malfunctioning or slow polling in Uttar Pradesh.
Angry villagers in Dayampur village of Meerut Cantt constituency abstained from voting till the afternoon. They were demanding construction of a village road.
Union minister and Muzaffarnagar MP Sanjeev Balyan, Baghpat MP (BJP) Satyapal Singh, Uttar Pradesh sugarcane minister Suresh Rana, BJP’s former state president Laxmikant Bajpai and BKU leader Rakesh Tikait cast their votes along with their family members.
Balyan said people will vote for the government which prevented “riots” and initiated development in the state.
Suresh Rana said the BJP will win more than 300 seats and the alliance has no impact on the election. Bajpai predicted the BJP will win an absolute majority.
RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary also sent a message to voters through Twitter. He appealed to the voters to elect a government which talks about “your welfare, which can protect your rights and keep the society united, create opportunities for youths and ensure safety for women and protect their honour”.
BKU leader Rakesh Tikait and his elder brother Naresh Tikait, the BKU chief, appealed to people to vote on issues of farmers.