53% polling in UP till 5 pm

Over 53 per cent polling was recorded till 5 pm in 13 Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, officials said.

In Varanasi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a second term, the voter turnout was 52.9 per cent.

"Till 5 pm, the turnout (across 13 seats) was 53.19 per cent," a state election office spokesperson said.

According to the data given by the state election office till 5 pm, the highest turnout was 57.80 per cent in Maharajganj, while Ballia reported the lowest turnout of 48.80 per cent. In Gorakhpur, the turnout was 54.80 per cent.

Violence erupted in Chandauli Lok Sabha constituency, from where state Bharatiya Janata Party chief Mahendra Nath Pandey is seeking re-election, when supporters of the saffron party and the Samajwadi Party clashed.

"The incident was reported from Parahupur Sikatiya village in Chandauli. A police team rushed to the spot and the situation was brought under control," Additional Chief Electoral Officer B D R Tiwari said.

Two election officials deputed at different polling booths in Gorakhpur and Bansgaon constituencies died of sudden illness, officials said.

Rajaram, 56, was a polling officer of booth number 381 at Prathmik Vidhyalay Madhopur in Pipraich area in Gorakhpur seat, Assistant Election Officer J N Maurya said. He was rushed to a community health centre where he was declared dead.

In the Bansgaon, Vinod Srivastav, 50, deputed at polling booth number 219, died around midnight due to cardiac arrest. He was an employee with the sugarcane department.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was among the early voters in Gorakhpur.

"People are fighting this election for nation's interest and if someone cannot understand this thing, his IQ is questionable. The entire election revolved around Modi ji. With big achievements of his government during the last five years, the BJP will win the election."Adityanath said after casting his ballot.

Union minister Shiv Pratap Shukla, who also exercised his franchise in Gorakhpur, said BJP candidate Ravi Kishan would win by a margin of over three lakh votes and the party would form the government.

A report from Chandauli said the fingers of Dalits had been inked before they could actually cast their vote in Tara Jivanpur village under Alinagar police station.

Asked to comment on the report, the additional chief electoral officer said: "We have taken cognizance of the entire incident and an FIR has been registered. Prima facie, names of workers of a political party have come to the fore. The administration has assured the people that they do not need to fear."
On death of an election official in Gorakhpur, Tiwari said: "The matter is being probed. If someone is seriously ill, then he is not deployed on poll duty. People submit their requests (for exemption from election duty) and the district administration considers such requests with sensitivity. However, if any untoward incident is to take place, no one can forecast it."
When asked whether there were lack of medical facilities for the election officials, the additional CEO said, "There is proper medical arrangement and first -aid kits have been given to all the poll staff."