UP turnout beats 1977 post-Emergency balloting

Voters in Uttar Pradesh have set a new record at turnout with over 58.29 percent ballots cast in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls compared to 56.44 percent in 1977, post-Emergency general elections, officials said Tuesday.

The maximum voter turnout was recorded at 73.65 percent in Saharanpur district during the first phase of polling. The polling percentage was over 70 percent in two parliamentary constituencies while the percentage touched 65 percent in nine other constituencies, Election Commission (EC) officials told IANS.

The voting percentage was 60 percent in 17 Lok Sabha constituencies, said Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Umesh Sinha.

Of the 13.88 crore total voters in Uttar Pradesh, as many as 8.97 crore used their franchise and voted in the 2014 general elections, Sinha said, adding that in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the number of votes cast was 5.53 crore.

The voting percentage in Lucknow was more than 20 percent compared to the turnout in 2009 -- 54.35 percent in 2014, while it was 35.39 percent in 2009.

The voting percentage in Allahabad city was 43.93 percent in 2009 while it was 55.80 percent in 2014.

The voters' turnout in Ghaziabad city was 60.80 percent which was much higher than 46.48 percent in 2009, said election officials.

Uttar Pradesh sends 80 lawmakers to the Lok Sabha and went to polls in six phases - April 10, 17, 24, 30, May 7 and May 12.

Many national leaders contested the polls in the state this time. These included Congress president Sonia Gandhi (Rae Bareli), Rahul Gandhi (Amethi), Rajnath Singh (Lucknow), Murli Manohar Joshi (Kanpur), Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav from Mainpuri and Azamgarh, and BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from Varanasi constituency.