56 pc voting till 4 PM in last phase of UP polls

Lucknow: Around 56 per cent of the 1.41 crore voters exercised their franchise till 4 PM on Wednesday in the seventh and last phase of Uttar Pradesh elections covering 40 Assembly seats spread over seven districts.

Polling started amidst tight security arrangements this morning and gained momentum as the day advanced.

All eyes are on the Assembly segments in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.

“Around 56 per cent votes were polled till 4 PM. The polling is going on peacefully,” according to the office of the UP Chief Electoral Officer here.

Assembly constituencies in Varanasi saw 45 per cent polling



while the Naxal-hit Mirzapur had 47.50 per cent polling till 4 PM, it said.

Three Naxal-affected districts of Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli, along with the five Assembly segments under Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, are in prime focus.

Tight security has been put in place in these seven districts.

Ghazipur, Jaunpur and Bhadoi are the other districts where polling is going on in this phase.

In Jaunpur, BJP candidate from Jafarabad seat Harendra Pratap Singh and four others were arrested for allegedly carrying voters to polling booths in two vehicles.

Singh, however, denied the charge.