UP registers 65% voter turnout, Uttarakhand record 68%
lucknow/dehradun — The second phase of aseembly elections in Uttar Pradesh across 67 seats ended on Wednesday, with over 65 per cent voter turnout, the Election Commission said here. “The polling was 65.5 per cent till 5pm and was continuing,” Deputy Election Commissioner Vijay Dev said.
Voting also took place in singlephase elections in Uttarakhand for 69 out of 70 seats.
Officials in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow said that maximum voting was reported from Saharanpur and Lakhimpur Kheri.
Barring some places where Electronic Voting Machines developed some snags, polling was smooth and peaceful in most of the 67 assembly constituencies across 11 districts. Long queues of women, differently-abled and elderly voters were seen in most parts outside the poll booths. A total of 721 candidates were in the fray.
In Uttarakhand, record 68 per cent of the electorate voted on Wednesday, two per cent more than the last assembly polls, to decide the fate of 628 candidates in 69 seats.
The turnout in the 2012 assembly polls was around 66 per cent.
The State Election Office said over 68 per cent of the electorate cast their votes by 5pm but many people were still standing in the queues outside the booths, implying that the poll percentage may go up by the time the final figures are collated.
Poll schedule for the lone Karnaprayag seat in Chamoli district had to be revised to March 9 due to the death of BSP candidate Kuldeep Singh Kanwasi in a road accident on Sunday last.
In most of the seats, ruling Congress and the BJP are locked in a straight contest. However, rebel candidates of both the parties are in the fray as independents in several constituencies and may upset the calculations of the official nominees of their respective parties. — IANS, PTI