UP witnesses moderate polling

An estimated 56 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise in the final phase of polling in 18 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh on Monday amid tight security.

Barring a few stray incidents, polling was by and large peaceful. The highest turnout was in Chandauli at 61 per cent, followed by 60 per cent in Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Maharajganj.

Varanasi, the epicentre of the poll battle where BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is in the fray, recorded around 56 per cent turnout.

Gorakhpur recorded 55 per cent polling followed by 54 per cent at Ghosi from where mafia don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari is contesting.

Azamgarh, from where SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav is in the fray, recorded 57 per cent polling.

Along with Modi and Mulayam, Monday’s polling sealed the fate of AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, Yogi Adityanath (BJP) and Union minister R P N Singh, who is in the fray from Kushinagar.