Over 9% voting recorded in UP LS polls (10 a.m.)

Amid EVM glitches and charges of booth capture, around 9.85 per cent voting was recorded in Uttar Pradesh on Monday in the first three hours of polling to the state's 14 parliamentary constituencies in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, according to officials.

As of 10 a.m., the voter turnout was the highest in Sitapur with an estimated 11.91 per cent, while Amethi recorded the lowest with 8.15 per cent polling.

The second top turnout was recorded from Dhaurhara with 11.13 per cent polling, followed by Kaushambi (10.86 per cent), Banda (10.43 per cent), Bahraich (10.14 per cent), Lucknow (10.12 per cent), Barabanki (9.85 per cent), Rae Bareli (9.70 per cent), Mohanlalganj (9.64 per cent), Faizabad (9.36 per cent), Gonda (9.19 per cent), Kaiserganj (8.87 per cent) and Fatehpur (8.78 per cent).

Voting began at 7 a.m. and will continue till 6 p.m.

Cabinet Ministers Ashutosh Tandan and Brajesh Pathak, and folk singer Malini Awasthi turned up with their families to exercise their democratic right.

In the Banda-Chitrakoot parliamentary constituency, people lined up infront of the polling booths since 6 a.m. to cast their ballot. Women were seen in large numbers.

This phase too, was marked by electronic voting machine (EVM) malfunctioning.

In Lucknow, where Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Bahujan Samaj supremo Mayawati cast their votes, polling began after almost an hour's delay due to EVM malfunction in Ramadhin Inter College and Singar Nagar polling booths.

Reports of EVM malfunction were pouring in from Barabanki, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh, Gonda, Banda and Dhaurhara.

Poor light inside polling booths was reported from several polling stations in Sitapur where the polling officials had to use their mobile torch to search names of voters.

In some booths in the Kaushambi constituency, voting was delayed as poll officials did not reach the booths on time.

Union Minister Smriti Irani alerted the Election Commission about Congress workers capturing booths and forcing voters to cast their vote for the Congress.

She tweeted a video of a woman who claimed that she was made to vote for the Congress. The woman said that one of the officials forcibly put her finger on the Congress button.

Some of the prominent leaders whose fate will be decided today are Congress President Rahul Gandhi (Amethi), UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi (Rae Bareli), Union Minister Smriti Irani (Amethi) and Home Minister Rajnath Singh (Lucknow).

--IANS

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