34 pc polling till 1 pm in UP

Over 34 per cent polling was reported till 1 pm Sunday in 14 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state, where SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Union minister Maneka Gandhi are among the key contestants.

A state election office spokesperson said the average poll percentage was 34.92 per cent.

While Sultanpur parliamentary constituency recorded the highest turnout of 38.87 per cent, enthusiasm among voters was the least in Phulpur, where 29.20 per cent cast their ballots.

Altogether, 177 candidates are contesting in these 14 constituencies, where 2.53 crore people are eligible to vote at 16,998 polling centres.

In Sultanpur, Union minister Maneka Gandhi and her rival BSP candidate Chandra Bhadra Singh alias Sonu had a face-off. Gandhi warned him that hooliganism wouldn't work, but Singh dismissed her charge.

"In Azamgarh, a presiding officer was removed following complaints by SP workers, A report has been sought from the district magistrate," UP's Chief Electoral Officer L Venkateshwar Lu said.

He also said there have been complaints about EVMs and VVPAT machines, and the machines have been replaced.

Polling was underway in Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phulpur, Allahabad, Ambedkararnagar, Shrawasti, Domariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabirnagar, Lalganj, Jaunpur, Machchlishahr, Bhadohi and Azamgarh constituencies in Purvanchal region of the state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party had won 13 of these 14 constituencies in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. The only exception was Azamgarh, which was won by SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav.

However, the BJP had to bite the dust in the bypolls in Phulpur and Gorakhpur constituencies last year.

While the anti-BJP alliance would like to retain its grip over both the seats, the saffron party is looking to take a sweet revenge from the opposition in this round.

In Azamgarh, Akhilesh Yadav is trying to retain his father's seat against Bhojpuri film star Dinesh Lal Yadav 'Nirahua' of the Indian Janata Party.

The SP president's decision to contest from his father's bastion is being touted as a move to consolidate the Yadav, Dalit and Muslim voters in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh.

Sultanpur too is seeing an interesting contest as the BJP has fielded Union minister Maneka Gandhi for the seat won by her son Varun Gandhi in 2014.

The seat appears tricky for Maneka Gandhi as BJP strategists are relying on a division of Congress and gathbandhan votes, besides possible counter-polarisation of non-Yadav and non-Jatav Dalit and OBC votes.