UP Panchayat elections Phase II sees nearly 68% polling

Nearly 68 per cent polling was recorded on Monday during the second phase of the Uttar Pradesh panchayat polls in 20 districts, according to the state election commission.

Of the 20 districts, polling details of 14 have been compiled.

While Lalitpur recorded the highest polling percentage of 80.95, Pratapgarh recorded the lowest at 60.06, the commission said.

Bijnore recorded 73.30, Gonda 66.42, Budaun 73.57, Azamgarh 63.59, Lakhimpur Kheri 77.98, Varanasi 68, Amroha 78.74, Sultanpur 64.50, Mainpuri 74.29, Kannauj 73.81, Gautam Buddh Nagar 75.32, Muzaffarnagar 72.58, Etah 73.24, Etawah 74.22, Chitrakoot 64.03, Baghpat 74.84 and Lucknow 72.

Over 3.48 lakh candidates were in the fray for over 2.23 lakh posts.

For the 787 seats of zila panchayat member, there were 11,483 candidates and for the 19,653 seats of kshetra panchayat, there were 85,232 candidates.

For gram panchayats, there were 1,21,906 candidates for 14,897 posts and for the gram panchayat wards, there were 1,30,305 candidates for 1,87,781 posts.

More than 2.31 lakh poll officials were deployed by the SEC for a smooth conduct of the panchayat polls.

In the first phase, which was held on April 15, polling percentage of 71 was recorded.

The 2015 panchayat polls had registered a polling percentage of 72.11, according to the commission.