Over 57 per cent voting in 14 UP constituencies

Over 57 per cent voter turnout was recorded Monday in 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh where Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi are in the fray.

Till 6 pm, the closing time, 57.33 per cent polling was witnessed in the state, Election Commission officials said.

The final figure is expected to go up when the votes of those still in the queue at this time are taken into account.

Among the early voters in the state capital were Home Minister Singh, BSP supremo Mayawati, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, BSP general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra, state police chief O P Singh and Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar.

Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party's Amethi candidate Irani alleged that the Congress president was "ensuring booth capturing" in the constituency.

She tagged a video in which an elderly women is seen alleging that her finger was forcibly put on the 'panja' (hand), the election symbol of the Congress, though she wanted to vote for 'kamal' (lotus), the BJP's symbol.