57 per cent turnout in fourth phase of UP poll
Police resort to lathicharge at Munshiganj in Rae Bareli district
An estimated 57 per cent of voters exercised their franchise in the fourth phase of polling in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections on Sunday.
The percentage could increase as there were long queues of voters outside the polling centres after the scheduled time for voting was over at 5 pm, poll officials here said.
Polling was held in 56 Assembly seats spread across 11 districts, including Raebareli, the Lok Sabha constituency of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the two Assembly segments in the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency amid tight security. Barring some minor incidents, the polling was by and large peaceful, sources here said. Police had to resort to lathi charge to disperse two clashing groups at Munshiganj in Rae Bareli district.
Polling began on a dull note owing to the morning chill but picked up momentum as the day passed and long queues of voters were witnessed outside booths, especially in the urban areas.
A presiding officer died following a cardiac arrest at a polling booth in Lucknow’s Alambagh area during the polling. According to sources, electorate of three villages in Fatehpur and Banda districts boycotted polling in protest against lack of development in their respective areas.
Young voters and women came out in large numbers to exercise their franchise. The polling percentage in Lucknow was also around 54, which was much more than the previous elections when only 39 per cent of the electorate had exercised their franchise.
The districts where polling was held in the fourth phase included Lucknow, Banda, Chitrakoot, Hardoi, Pratapgarh, Unnao, Farrukhabad, Fatehpur and Kannauj. This phase will decide the fate of Louis Khursheed, Reeta Bahuguna Joshi, Pramod Tewari and Gulabi Gang leader Sampat Pal.
