Over 38% polling in UP's final phase (Afternoon Lead)

Over 38 per cent of 1.41 crore Uttar Pradesh voters cast votes on Wednesday till 1 p.m. in the final phase of the assembly elections covering 40 seats in seven eastern districts.

A large turnout of women was seen in all the eight seats of Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Till 1 p.m., Varanasi recorded 37.9 per cent polling while 38 per cent voting was reported from neighbouring Mirzapur, an Election Commission official said.

Jaunpur recorded 37.4 per cent voting, 42.5 per cent was recorded in Maoist-affected Sonbhadra, 37.4 per cent in Bhadohi, the carpet exporting hub in eastern part of the state, Chandauli recorded 36.5 percent and Ghazipur 35.5 per cent in the first six hours, the official added.

Technical snags in electronic voting machines and calls for boycotting polls were reported in some polling stations in the morning in Mirzapur and Bhadohi.

A total of 535 candidates, including 51 women, are in fray in the seventh and last phase of polls spread across the eastern region, known as Poorvanchal.

The electorate comprises 76.87 lakh men, 64.99 lakh women and 706 voters of the third gender.

As many as 8,682 polling stations with 14,458 polling booths have been set up, a poll official said.

Polling will continue till 5 p.m. in 37 constituencies, whereas in Robertsganj and Duddhi in Sonbhadra district and Chakia segment in Chandauli, it will end by 4 p.m., the Election Commission official added.

The onus is on the ruling Samajwadi Party to retain its prestige as it had won 24 of these 40 seats in the 2012 assembly polls. However, a lot is also at stake for the Bharatiya Janata Party and Modi himself as it swept the Poorvanchal in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

--IANS

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