UP second phase registers 65% polling

Around 65 per cent polling was recorded in the second phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections on Wednesday, officials said.

"Polling for the second phase in up ended peacefully with around 65 per cent polling," an election official said.

Maximum voting was reported from Saharanpur and Lakhimpur Kheri.

Barring some places where Electronic Voting Machines developed some snags, polling was smooth and peaceful in most of the 67 assembly constituencies across 11 districts.

Polling began on Wednesday morning amid tight security at 7 a.m.

The fate of 721 candidates is to be sealed by 2.28 crore voters, of whom a sizable number (47.72 lakh) are the youths aged 18-19 years.

Chief Electoral Officer T. Venkatesh said that 2,983 of the total 23,695 polling booths were identified as sensitive and security was scaled up there.

Long queues of women, differently-abled and elderly voters were seen in most parts outside the poll booths.

In the 2012 assembly polls, the average polling in these constituencies was 64 per cent.

--IANS

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