LS polls phase 7: UP records more than 28% voter turnout till 11 am

The state sends 80 members to the Lower House of Parliament and the polling has been spread over all seven election phases

Uttar Pradesh recorded a polling percentage of 28.02 till 11 am as voting for the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha election began at 7 am on Saturday, the Election Commission (EC) said.

Polling is being held in 13 constituencies of the state, including Varanasi, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third consecutive term in the Lok Sabha.

Besides Varanasi, the other seats where polling is taking place are Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon (reserved for Scheduled Castes), Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Mirzapur and Robertsganj (reserved for SCs).

A total of 144 candidates -- 134 men and 10 women -- are in the fray.

According to the EC, the polling percentage till 11 am is -- Ballia 27.81, Bansgaon 28.3, Chandauli 29.08, Deoria 28.1, Ghazipur 27.55, Ghosi 27.67, Gorakhpur 26.64, Kushinagar 28.06, Maharajganj 29.66, Mirzapur 29.54, Robertsganj 28.09, Salempur 27.94 and Varanasi 26.13.

Uttar Pradesh sends the highest number of 80 members to the Lower House of Parliament among all states.

The bypoll for the Duddhi (reserved for Scheduled Tribes) Assembly constituency in Sonbhadra district is also being held.

The poll percentage in Duddhi stood at 25.6 at 11 am.

Six candidates are contesting from the seat that fell vacant after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ram Dular's disqualification following his conviction in a rape case.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath exercised his franchise in Gorakhpur, while Union minister Anupriya Patel, a candidate from Mirzapur, also cast her vote in Mirzapur.

According to the EC, voting for all the Lok Sabha seats in the seventh phase, barring Robertsganj, will be held from 7 am to 6 pm.
 

In the Robertsganj (SC) Lok Sabha seat and Duddhi Assembly constituency, voting will be held from 7 am to 4 pm.

Uttar Pradesh is witnessing a direct contest between the BJP-led NDA and INDIA bloc members Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress.

Gorakhpur has earlier been represented in the Lok Sabha by Adityanath for five times. Union ministers Mahendra Nath Pandey, Pankaj Chaudhary and Patel are contesting from Chandauli, Maharajganj and Mirzapur respectively.

From Ghazipur, mafia don-turned-politician late Mukhtar Ansari's brother Afzal Ansari is in the fray and from Ballia, former prime minister Chandrashekhar's son Neeraj Shekhar is contesting.

Campaigning for the 13 seats ended on Thursday evening.

Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh were among the star campaigners for the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) of opposition parties saw Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Dimple Yadav canvassing for its candidates.

Gandhi contested the polls from Rae Bareli in the fifth phase on May 20, Akhilesh Yadav was fielded by the SP from Kannauj that went to polls in the fourth phase on May 13 and Dimple Yadav contested from Mainpuri where voting was held in the third phase on May 7.

During campaigning, the BJP alleged that the INDIA bloc would bring in Muslim reservation and put the "Babri lock" on Ayodhya's Ram temple if voted to power.

The opposition alliance urged people not to vote for the BJP in order to "protect" the Constitution and democracy.

BJP's key allies, NISHAD Party and Om Prakash Rajbhar's Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), have fielded candidates in this phase. Another BJP ally Apna Dal (Sonelal)'s Anupriya Patel is also seeking re-election.

Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is contesting the Varanasi and Gorakhpur seats.

State Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said there are 2,50,56,877 voters in the 13 Lok Sabha seats in this phase, including 1,33,10,897 men, 1,17,44,922 women and 1,058 third-gender electors.