60 per cent polling in fifth phase
Voting in UP districts picked up pace gradually
An overwhelming response to the Assembly poll in Uttar Pradesh continued, with en estimated 60 per cent turnout recorded in the fifth phase on Thursday.
Polling on 49 Assembly seats in 13 districts in the central region of the state was held amid tight security. No untoward incident was reported.
Polling began on a slow note but gained momentum with time. Long queues of voters were seen outside polling centres at many places. Women and the youth came out in large numbers to exercise their franchise, poll officials here said.
Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh cast their ballots at their native village Saifai in Etawah district, while union minister Sriprakash Jaiswal exercised his franchise at Kanpur.
Polling was held at Firozabad, Kanshiram Nagar, Etah, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auraiya, Ramabai Nagar, Kanpur, Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Mahoba and Hamirpur on Thursday.
Lalitpur district witnessed the highest turnout with over 70 per cent polling while Kanpur recorded the lowest. At some places in Mainpuri district, the electorate boycotted polling to protest lack of development.
Many of the districts have been traditional strong holds of Mulayam Singh Yadav. Etawah is his native district. His younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav is contesting from the Jaswant Nagar Assembly seat in Etawah.
Firebrand BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti is contesting from Charkhari Assembly constituency in Mahoba district.
Jaiswal triggers controversy
Union minister and senior Congress leader Sriprakash Jaiswal’s reported remarks on the imposition of President rule in Uttar Pradesh in case of a bifurcated mandate triggered a fresh controversy on Thursday with the Opposition parties taking strong exception to it, reports DHNS from Lucknow.
Jaiswal however, clarified later that he had said that the President rule would be the only option if none gets majority in UP after the polls. He expressed confidence that his party would secure an absolute majority in the polls and form the next government.
Speaking to reporters after casting his vote at Kanpur, Jaiswal said that President rule could be imposed in the state if no party gets majority in the Assembly polls.
