Voting is underway in 55 constituencies of Uttar Pradesh, Goa and Uttarakhand. Eleven districts of Uttar Pradesh went to polls on February 10 in the first phase. Goa and Uttarakhand are voting in single phase today.
Among the notable faces contesting in UP is Azam Khan from Rampur seat. As many as 586 candidates are in fray in Uttar Pradesh for the second phase of polling. Of the 55 constituencies going to polls in UP today,the BJP had won 38 in 2017. On February 10, polling was held in 58 constituencies, including Noida, Kairana, Shamli, Hapur, Aligarh and Dadri.
According to PTI, the footfall at polling stations in UP in the morning was low owing to cold and foggy weather conditions. However, as the day proceeded, there was an uptick in voter turnouts as well. The voting that began at 7am will continue to 6pm.
While voting is underway in Uttarakhand, UP and Goa, the political parties are setting the poll pitch in Punjab, where the elections will be held on February 20. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi are campaigning for further phases of Assembly elections in UP and Punjab.
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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held a poll rally in Punjab on Monday ahead of Assembly elections there. Training his guns at PM Modi over unemployment, he alleged that only two-three billionaires benefited from moves like demonetisation and GST. "We have Punjab elections before us. This is not an ordinary election. You have to elect a new government," said Gandhi. "In the country today, in every state, unemployment is rising," news agency PTI quoted Gandhi as saying.
Uttarakhand recorded a voter turnout of over 35% till 1pm. Voting is underway for the 70 Assembly states spanning over 13 districts. Officials said Covid protocols wee being followed as people walked in to cast their votes. People were allowed to vote only after wearing gloves.
Goa has recorded a voter turnout of 60.18% till 3pm. The voting will continue till 6pm in the coastal state.
Apart from the malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines and VVPATs at some polling stations, no untoward incident has been reported as the voting for phase comes to a close in some time.
Around 57% of voter turnout has been recorded till 5pm in Uttar Pradesh in the first phase of voting today. The fate of 623 candidates over 58 constituencies will be sealed by 2.27 crore voters in the Jat-dominated belt of UP's western region.
UP chief minister on Thursday made controversial remarks while urging the people to vote. He asked people to vote wisely or else the state would become 'Kashmir, Bengal or Kerala'. “I want to say something from my heart today. In the past five years, many wonderful things have happened. But if you make a mistake, the hard work of these five will be wasted. And this time, it will not take time for Uttar Pradesh to become Kashmir, Bengal or Kerala," he said in a video message as he urged people to vote for the BJP.
The first phase of polling is a key battle for the BJP as the saffron party faces the alliance of Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal led by Akhilesh Yadav and Jayant Chaudhary, respectively.
The BJP has nine of its current ministers fray during the first phase of polls. Suresh Rana of Thana Bhawan, Kapil Dev Aggarwal of Muzaffarnagar, Dinesh Khateek of Hastinapur, Atul Garg of Ghaziabad and Anil Sharma Shikarpur are some of them.