Polling for UP’s 3rd Phase Concludes, 61% Turnout Recorded by 5 PM
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- Voter turnout in the third phase was reported at 61% till 5 PM
- All major Yadavs cast their votes on Sunday
- Mulayam Singh Yadav asserted son Akhilesh will form the government again
- Rajnath Singh cast his vote and said he is confident of BJP’s win
- Election Commission siezed Rs 38.40 crore in cash
Peaceful Polling Took Place in Third Phase; Expect Turnout to Cross 63%: Election Commission
Election Commission Seizes Record Rs 38.40 Crore in Cash
The election commission has said that it seized Rs 38.40 crore in cash and over 2.04 lakh litres of liquor during the third phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. In addition, narcotics worth Rs 17.50 lakh was also seized by the authorities.
Take Note of PM Modi's Irresponsible Statements: Anand Sharma to EC
Senior Congress Leader Anand Sharma on Sunday urged the Election Commission to take note of Prime Minister Modi’s alleged divisive comments made at a rally in Fatehpur.
Speaking at the rally, the PM said:
No Differences Within the Family, Says Prateek Yadav
Speaking to the media on Sunday, Prateek Yadav condemned the controversy which saw his mother – Sadhana Yadav – being blamed for the infighting within the Samajwadi Party.
Prateek, who is the younger brother of the UP CM, said:
61% Voter Turnout Recorded Till 5 PM
61% percent voter turnout was recorded in the first nine hours of polling in the third phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections on Sunday, the Election Commission (EC) officials said.
Earlier, the election commission revealed that as of 1 pm, 43 percent voting was reported from Sitapur, 32 percent from Kanpur city, 44 percent from Kannauj, 30 percent in Auraiyya, 41 percent in Kanpur rural and 38 percent in Unnao districts.
Lucknow district continued to lag behind in voting trends as only 35 percent balloting was recorded.
The EC officials said it was probably because the polling coincided with a Sunday, but they expressed hope that voting will pick up by late afternoon and better the past percentage of 59 percent.
Akhilesh, Rahul Address Rally in Jhansi
Minutes after PM Modi addressed a rally in Fatehpur, Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Jhansi attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party. Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said:
Modi Addresses Rally in Fatehpur, Urges Voters to Boot out SP
Addressing a rally in the city of Fatehpur, the Prime Minister on Sunday urged the voters in Uttar Pradesh to see through the lies of the Akhilesh Sarkar.
In a high-pitched appeal for votes he asked the voters to boot the Samajwadi Party (SP) out of power and opt for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly elections.
Read the full report here.
BJP's Swati Singh Casts Vote
BJP candidate from Sarojini Nagar (Lucknow), Swati Singh, casts her vote. She is contesting against BSP’s Shankari Singh and SP’s Anurag Yadav. She is the wife of Dayashankar Singh, the MLA who called BSP supremo Mayawati a ‘prostitute.’
Aparna Yadav Casts Vote in Safai
'Humein Lagta Hai Crime Bol Raha Hai': Sakshi Maharaj Takes a Dig at Akhilesh Yadav
Controversial BJP leader Sakshi Maharaj cast his vote in Unnao and took a dig at the incumbent Samajwadi Party government.
Akhilesh Will be Chief Minister Again: Mulayam Singh Yadav
Mulayam Singh Yadav, accompanied by daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav, cast his vote in Saifai.
“Developmental work has been done in UP and Akhilesh will be the Chief Minister once again,” Mulayam Singh Yadav said. He also responded to Modi’s ‘adopted son’ remark.
Stones Pelted at Shivpal Yadav's Car
On Sunday morning, stones were pelted at Shivpal Yadav’s car in Etawah’s Jaswantnagar, according to several media reports.
BSP is Front Runner, Claims Mayawati in Lucknow
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday cast her vote in the third phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly election.
Clad in a fawn coloured salwar suit and a matching floral shawl, Mayawati at around 9 am walked in the polling booth number 251 at the Mall Avenue polling station.
Later interacting with the media, the four-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister claimed a wave in favour of the BSP and said her party was number one in the two rounds of balloting so far.
She said the BSP would get 300 plus seats at the end of the polling.
Exuding confidence, Mayawati said she was confident of a "government on our own" as people had decided to favour her party.
24% Percent Voter Turnout Recorded Till 11 AM
24% percent voter turnout has been recorded in the state till 11 am.
Rajnath Singh Casts Vote, is Confident About BJP's Win
Home Minister Rajnath Singh cast his vote on Sunday. He said he is confident that the BJP will win by an absolute majority in the state.
The Yadavs Cast Their Vote
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav cast his vote in Saifai. “We were ahead in first two phases and I am confident that we will stay ahead in third phase too,” he said while voting. Along with Akhilesh, brother Prateek Yadav also cast his vote and asserted that he is confident the Samajwadi Party will form the government in the state again.
Ramgopal Yadav and Akhilesh’s wife Dimple Yadav also cast their votes in Saifai. Ramgopal also said that “there is no fighting within the party as far as voting is concerned” and that the party will win more than 300 seats.
Long Queues Reported
Long queues are being reported from most of the 69 assembly seats including Kanpur, Etawah and even Lucknow, which is usually seen as less excited about voting.
Days of Campaigning End as Third Phase of Polling Begins in UP
Preparations are complete for Sunday's polling in 69 Assembly constituencies that figure in Phase-III of the staggered Uttar Pradesh elections.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's Lok Sabha constituency, Lucknow, and SP strongholds, Kannauj, Mainpuri and Etawah, figure in this round.
Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur, Unnao, Barabanki and Sitapur are among the 12 districts where these Assembly seats are spread over.
Etawah is the native place of SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav, while another key district is Mainpuri, from where Tej Pratap Yadav is an SP MP. From Kannauj, Dimple Yadav, wife of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, is an MP.
Key Stats For the Polls
A total of 826 candidates are in the fray, whose fate will be decided by 2.41 crore voters, including 1.10 crore women and 1,026 belonging to the third gender category.
While the maximum number of 21 candidates are in Etawah, minimum of three candidates are in Haidergarh (Barabanki).
Lucknow West and Central have 17 candidates each. Voting will take place in 25,603 polling booths in this phase.
Prominent among those, whose prestige will be at stake, is Nitin Agarwal, son of SP leader Naresh Agarwal, BSP turncoat Brijesh Pathak from Lucknow (Central) on BJP ticket, and Congress turncoat Rita Bahuguna Joshi from Lucknow Cantt, who is pitted against Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law Aparna.
SP leader Shivpal, too, is a key figure in this round. He is contesting from Jaswant Nagar seat.
BJP Fields More Candidates With a Criminal Past Than Samajwadi Party
In the Third Phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls slated for 19 February, the BJP has given tickets to more candidates with criminal and serious criminal cases against them as compared to SP, an analysis of the data shows.
There are a total of 826 candidates in the fray in the Third Phase, out of whom affidavits of 813 candidates were analysed by election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
Of these, 110 candidates have declared criminal cases against them, while 82 have serious criminal cases against them, the ADR analysis showed.
Of these, seven candidates have declared cases related to murder, 11 have cases of attempt to murder, five have cases related to kidnapping and six candidates have cases related to assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty.
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