The polling of fifth phase Uttar Pradesh assembly elections ended at 5PM on Monday. According to latest data available, voting registered till 5PM was 57.36 per cent, lowest till now in ongoing state assembly elections. In this phase, BJP, SP and BSP will fight to stake claim at 51 constituencies of the eastern UP.
"57.36% turnout in fifth phase of UP Polls; voting ends by and large peacefully in 51 assembly seats," UP CEO T Venkatesh informed PTI.
In all, 608 candidates are in the fray in this phase with maximum of 24 candidates in Amethi and minimum of six each in Kapilvastu and Etwa seats of Siddharth Nagar district.
1.84 crore voters, including 96 lakh women, will decide the fate of leaders in the fray including ministers Vinod Kumar Singh alias Pandit Singh from Tarabganj (Gonda), Tej Narain Pandey alias Pawan Pandey from Ayodhya and BSP state president Ram Achal Rajbhar from Akbarpur in this phase.
Due to death of Samajwadi Party candidate Chandrashekhar Kanaujia in Alapur (Ambedkar Nagar), the EC has announced fresh date of voting in this constituency on March 9.
The ruling Samajwadi Party had won 37 seats out of 52 (total seats in this phase including Alapur) in 2012. While BJP and Congress won five seats each, BSP had won three and Peace Party won two seats.
The districts going to polls in this phase are Balrampur, Gonda, Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Bahraich, Shravasti, Basti, Siddharth Nagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, Amethi and Sultanpur.
As it Happened:
#6:27 PM
Approximately 57.36% voting recorded till 5 PM in the fifth phase of UP elections
#4:45PM
Estimated 52 per cent of voter turnout till 4 PM during fifth phase of UP polls where all eyes are set on Amethi and Faizabad
#3:00 PM
49.19% voting recorded till 3 PM for fifth phase of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh
#11:31 AM
27% voting recorded till 11 am
#11:10 AM
13% voting recorded till 10 AM
#9:32 AM-10.77% voting in Uttar Pradesh fifth phase assembly elections till 9 am
#7AM: Voting begins in 51 constituencies for Phase 5 of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections
Important details about Uttar Pradesh Elections
# Total Assembly Constituencies: 51
# Date of Polling: February 27 (Phase 5 out of 7 phases)
# Total Electorate: 1.84 crore (including 96 lakh women)
# Major Parties & Alliance
- SP (Samajwadi Party) + Indian National Congress
- Bhartiya Janta Party
- Bahujan Samaj Party
- Peace Party
# 2012 Assembly Election Results:
- SP: 37 Seats
- BSP: 3 Seats
- BJP: 5 Seats
- Congress: 5 Seats
- Peace party: 2 Seats
- Others: 0 Seat
Security arrangements to ensure peaceful polling
Five out of 51 assembly constituencies going to poll on Monday border Nepal, which has recently come under scrutiny for cross-border terrorism. Central forces on Sunday conducted flag march in sensitive areas close to the Terai region in Nepal’s foothills.
PM Modi had also recently attributed the Kanpur train tragedy to vulnerability along the northern border in these areas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made it a point in his speech in Gonda to refer to the Kanpur train tragedy in which 150 people were killed.
Modi had said the accident was due to a “conspiracy” and the perpetrators carried it out “sitting across the border” in Nepal.
Gonda is close to Nepal and so are Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur and Sidhharth Nagar districts.
Two-cornered fight between BJP and SP-Congress
The districts of eastern UP are traditionally aligned towards Samajwadi Party. With 37 incumbent MLAs, SP will have only real competition with PM Modi-led Bhartiya Janta Party.
In 2012 assembly elections, BJP had managed only 5 seats, but the party improved its voter base considerably in 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Illustrious fight for politically-crucial Amethi
The eyeballs will remain focussed on the Nehru-Gandhi family dominated Amethi, as it goes to polls with as many as 24 candidates, maximum in this phase.
Prominent contestants in this phase include controversial minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati (SP), who will be facing Amita Singh (Congress) and Garima Singh (BJP) in Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Rahul Gandhi.
Amita is the wife of Congress leader Sanjay Singh, while Garima is his estranged spouse, making it a “rani versus rani” contest.
The campaign
The run-up to the high-decibel campaign for the fifth phase saw free flow of words like “donkey, Kasab and kabootar”, taking the level of speeches by leaders of key parties to a new low.
As the war of words among rival parties got uglier, Modi had hit back at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for his “donkey” remark, asking him if he was afraid of the four-footed creatures of Gujarat.
“I take inspiration from the donkey because I work for people day and night...donkeys are loyal to their master,” he had said in Bahraich to counter the SP chief’s reference to donkeys of Gujarat in a poll meeting earlier in Rae Bareli.
“It works even if it is ill, hungry or tired and completes the task...Akhilesh ji these 125 crore countrymen are my masters...I do all the work they ask me to do as I take inspiration from donkeys and take it with full pride,” he had said.
The Prime Minister’s reaction came as the UP CM advised megastar Amitabh Bachchan “not to advertise for the donkeys of Gujarat”.
Akhilesh was referring to an advertisement in which Bachchan, the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism, is seen inviting tourists to visit the Wild Ass Sanctuary located in Little Rann of Kutch in the state.
As if the “donkey” remark was not enough, BSP supremo Mayawati had hit back at BJP president Amit Shah after he used the acronym “KASAB” for Congress, SP and BSP, saying, “There cannot be a bigger Kasab than him.”
She had also dubbed Shah a “terrorist”.
“Aaj apney desh mein Amit Shah sey bada yehan koi aur Kasab nahin ho sakta hai, arthat atanki nahin ho sakta hai (There cannot be a bigger Kasab, that is a terrorist, than Amit Shah),” she had said after Shah coined the acronym matching the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack perpetrator.
Akhilesh had also hit out at the BJP chief for his KASAB barb, saying “KA” actually stood for “kabutar” (pigeon) and people will set BJPs pigeons free this election.
Shah had said, “Until Uttar Pradesh gets rid of K-A-S-A-B, there will be no development in the state. Ka (in Hindi) is for Congress, Sa for Samajwadi Party and Ba for BSP.”
After Monday’s voting, 141 constituencies in 25 districts will be left in poll fray. The remaining two phases will be held on March 4 and 8, apart from voting on March 9
Manipur will vote on March 4 and 8. Goa and Punjab have voted on February 4. Counting of votes in all the states will be taken up on March 11, culminating the exercise.
(With inputs from PTI)
Assembly Elections 2017: Full Coverage
Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2017: Full Coverage
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