Preparations done for UP's final phase of polling: EC

Preparations for the seventh and final phase of polling for the Uttar Pradesh assembly have been completed, poll panel officials said on Tuesday.

Talking to media persons, chief electoral official T. Venkatesh said that 1.41 crore voters are expected to cast their votes in 40 assembly constituencies, spread over seven districts in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Out of these, 76.87 lakh voters are male, 64.99 lakh are women and 706 from the third gender, he added. The number of polling stations is 8,682, while that of the polling booths is 14,458. In fray are 535 candidates, including 51 women.

"We have made arrangements to ensure peaceful, free and fair polls and are expecting a large voter turn out," he said.

For the polling, 1,583 micro-observers, 1,029 sector magistrates, 156 zonal magistrates, 123 static magistrates will be deployed as well an adequate number for police and central paramilitary forces, a poll panel official told IANS adding that 38 general observers, 10 expenditure observers and seven police observers have also been put on duty.

A total of 71,671 personnel have been put on duty in the polling exercise which will begin at 7 a.m. on Wednesday. A total of 750 digital cameras and 783 video cameras have also been installed to keep an eye on balloting and live webcasting would be done from 1,596 places.

--IANS

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