Lucknow, February 10: The voting for the first phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022 has begun at 7 am today. The polling will end at┬а6.00 pm. The assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh will be conducted in seven phases on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27, March 3 and 7. The votes will be counted on March 10, and on the same day, the results will be declared.┬аUttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022, Phase 1: Electoral Fate of 9 Ministers at Stake in First Phase of UP Polls.

The Election Commission has made all the necessary preparations for the first phase of polling. Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) along with Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is being used at every Polling Station. The move will enhance the transparency and credibility of the election process. During this phase of the UP assembly elections, there are 623 candidates in the fray for 58 seats.

Out of the total seats in the first phase, nine are reserved for the Scheduled Castes. The constituencies going for polls are from 11 districts - Bulandshahar, Aligarh, Agra, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Shamli, Meerut, Hapur, Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Mathura and Muzaffarnagar. In view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, the poll body has decided to allow a maximum of 1,250 electors in a polling station.

A 59.61% voter turnout was recorded in the first phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022 which concluded at 6 pm.

According to the latest trends of the Election Commission, a voter turnout of 57.79% has been recorded in Uttar Pradesh till┬а5 PM.

According to the latest trends of the Election Commission, a voter turnout of 48.24% has been recorded in Uttar Pradesh till 3 PM.

According to the latest trends of the Election Commission, a voter turnout of 35.03% has been recorded in Uttar Pradesh till now.

The state has recorded a voting turnout of 20.03 per cent till 11 am. No untoward incident has been reported so far.

Average turnout till 11 am - 20.03%.┬аEVM & VVPAT malfunction complaints are being addressed immediately, says Chief Electoral Officer of UP.

With voting underway for the first phase of the Assembly elections in UP, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav tweeted, тАЬNew UP's new slogan: Let development be the ideology!тАЭ

RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary will not go to cast his vote today because of an election rally he is leading, his office told news agency ANI. He is a voter of the Mathura region.

The Samajwadi Party, via a tweet, alleged that voters belonging to the poor class are being intimidated and sent away from polling booths in Kairana in UP's Shamli district as polling is underway for the first phase of the Assembly elections.

As voting began for Phase 1 of the Uttar Pradesh polls started, CM Yogi Adityanath said, тАЬToday is the first phase of the mahayagya of democracy. This ritual would not be complete without the offering of your invaluable vote. Your vote will strengthen the resolve of a crime-free, fear-free, riot-free Uttar Pradesh. That's why vote first, then refreshment.тАЭ

As Uttar Pradesh started voting, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, said: тАЬFree the country of all fear. Come out, vote!"

Noida has recorded a voter turnout of 8.07 per cent till 9 am.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, asked the voters to come out and exercise their franchise.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra urged the voters of western Uttar Pradesh to use the power of the vote to build a better future for the state. Extending best wishes to Congress workers and candidates, she said they should be proud of the fact that the party is fighting on all seats of Uttar Pradesh.

Former Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya is contesting the polls n the BJP ticket. Other key candidates in the first phase of polls include state cabinet ministers Shrikant Sharma, Samajwadi PartyтАЩs Shahid Manzoor, BSPтАЩs Madan Chauhan and Pankaj Awana of the Aam and Aadmi Party (AAP). During UP Assembly Elections 2017, the BJP won 53 out of these 58 seats, while the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won two seats each. The Rashtriya Lok Dal bagged one.

Apart from UP, other states going for polls in February and March are Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. The results of all the assembly elections will be declared on March 10.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 10, 2022 07:55 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).