UP election 4th phase highlights: 60.37% voting till 5pm, people boycott polling in Khaga

Fifty-three assembly constituencies spread over 12 districts, including the backward Bundelkhand region and the Nehru-Gandhi pocket borough of Rae Bareli, went to polls in the 4th phase of the assembly elections. In 2012, the Samajwadi Party had won 24, BJP five, Bahujan Samaj Party 15, Congress six and ‘others’ three of these seats. This time 680 candidates are in the fray, and their fate will be decided by 1.84 crore voters, including 84 lakh women.

The state’s ruling SP is facing a stiff challenge from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in this phase covering the entire Bundelkhand, parts of Avadh region and parts of eastern UP. The campaigning for this phase has been ugly, with an intense war of words breaking out among political bigwigs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeatedly targeted the SP-Congress alliance and the BSP, particularly their leaders chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, who hit back at the PM.

In Bundelkhand, the BSP believes it has an opportunity due to caste equations due to the relatively low Yadav population in the region. Mayawati is hence looking to regain her foothold in the seven Bundelkhand districts. But BJP’s Uma Bharati, who is a Bundelkhandi (but originally from the Madhya Pradesh part of the region), is trying to win the region for the saffron party. Elections for UP legislative assembly are being held in seven phases with three more -- February 27, March 4 and 8 -- to follow. Election results will be out on March 11.

Here are the highlights from battleground UP:

6.45pm: Overall voter turn out hits 61% at 5pm; expected to hit 63%

4.45pm: Overall turn out till 3 pm is 50.37%.

1.50pm: 38.14% overall polling till 1pm.

12.59pm: Banda general secretary of BSP, Naseemuddin Siddiqui, says we will sit in Opposition in case we don’t get majority.

12.58pm: Anita Srivastava of BJP involved in a scuffle with policemen in Sadar Rae Bareli.

12.03pm: MLA Akhilesh Singh alleges he has been “placed under house arrest”.

11.59am: 23.78% voting in Uttar Pradesh till 11am in fourth phase of assembly elections.

10.41am: Villagers boycott polling in Fatehpur’s Khaga over developmental issues. Zero votes at booths 105 and 106, nine at booth 107 and eight at booth 109: ANI.

10am: 10.23% voting in fourth phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections till 9 am.

9:55am: Poll percentage from 7-9am: Fatehpur (9.8%), Chitrakoot (12 %), Hamirpur (10.8%), Orai Jalaun (9%)

9:50am: UP BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya casts his vote in Allahabad.

9:30am: Eight per cent polling in the first hour. Allahabad recorded 9.3% voting in the first two hours of polling.

9:00am:

8:39am: Voting has still not started in booth no 481 in Jalaun as the EVM machine is not working, reports ANI.

8:00am:

7:35am: Clash between SP and BSP supporters in Mahoba,reports ANI. Four, including Samajwadi Party candidate Siddhgopal Sahu’s son, injured.

7:26am:

7:00am: Voting begins in 53 constituencies in the fourth phase of the UP assembly elections.

(With agency inputs)