Lucknow, May 4: A voter turnout of 35 per cent was recorded till 3 pm in the first phase of the urban local body elections in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.

The voting, which commenced at 7 am, will continue till 6 pm, officials said.

According to the State Election Commission (SEC), a polling percentage of 51.67 was recorded in Shamli district, 50.57 in Shravasti and 50.92 in Maharajganj. Varanasi recorded a polling percentage of 32.7 and Prayagraj 24.31, the SEC said. UP Nagar Nikay Chunav 2023 Phase 1: 19% Voting Recorded Till 11 AM for Uttar Pradesh Urban Local Body Polls.

Voters in 37 districts will exercise their franchise in the first phase of the polls to elect 7,593 representatives, including 10 mayors and 820 corporators, it said. The districts where mayoral election are being held in the first phase are Saharanpur, Agra, Moradabad, Firozabad, Mathura, Jhansi, Prayagraj, Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Varanasi.

More than 2.40 crore people are eligible to vote in the first phase, the officials said, adding that all the posts are being contested on party symbols. In the first phase, polling is being held for 103 posts of nagar palika parishad chairperson and 2,740 nagar palika parishad members.

The voters will decide the fate of 275 candidates vying for the posts of nagar panchayat chairperson and 3,645 nagar panchayat members. A total of 44,232 candidates are in the fray in the first phase. SEC officials said 85 representatives, including 10 corporators, have already been elected unopposed.

These elections will pose a key test for the parties ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is Lok Sabha MP from Lucknow, cast his vote at a booth in Gomti Nagar here. BSP chief Mayawati, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak and former deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma also cast their votes in Lucknow.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya voted in Prayagraj.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who cast his vote in Gorakhpur, was the first voter at his booth at Gorakhnath Kanya Prathmik Vidyalaya near Jhulelal. He reached the booth at 7.01 am. UP Nagar Nikay Chunav 2023 Phase 1: Voting Begins in 37 Districts for Uttar Pradesh Urban Local Body Polls; Results on May 13.

Talking to reporters in Gorakhpur, Adityanath said, "The weather is pleasant in May. I think it is God's blessing so that people can elect a good urban government and cast their votes. The State Election Commission has made all necessary arrangements to conduct the elections. I appeal to all to cast their votes."

"Yaad rahe, pehle matdaan, phir jalpaan (vote first, breakfast later)," he said, using a catchphrase given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls last year.

Speaking to reporters after casting her vote at a school at Mall Avenue here, Mayawati said, "Our party is contesting the polls alone. I hope that my party will get a good response and the results will be good." On reports of malfunctioning of electronic voting machines at some places in Lucknow, District Magistrate Suryapal Gangwar said all such EVMs were replaced.

In Mainpuri, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Virendra Kumar Mittal, who was the returning officer of Nagar Panchayat Jyoti Khudia, died due to a suspected heart attack, Additional District Magistrate Ramji Misra told PTI. He was rushed to the district hospital after he collapsed at the polling station and was declared brought dead by doctors, the officials said.

Special Director General, Law and Order, Prashant Kumar said the polling is going on peacefully in the state and there has been "no report" of any untoward incident anywhere. Wherever there were reports of problems in EVMs, they were changed, he said.

However, in Maharajganj, supporters of a BJP and a Congress candidate clashed with each other near a house during polling in Nichlaul town. The two accused each other of distributing money to voters, police said. The supporters left before the police reached the spot, they said. The India-Nepal border was sealed at 6 pm on Tuesday. The security personnel are maintaining a strict vigil but allowing people who need to attend weddings or have some emergency work to pass.

Paramilitary and police personnel are continuously patrolling the Indo-Nepal border. Soldiers are carrying out pillar-to-pillar mobile duty for the security of the open border, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) border outpost in-charge Jayant Ghosh said. Voting for the second phase of the urban body elections will take place on May 11. The counting of votes for the two phases will be taken up on May 13.