Lucknow, February 26: Voting for the fifth phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections ends at 5 pm with 53.93 per cent voter turnout. The counting of elections will be held on March 10

The 61 constituencies across 12 districts will go to the polls in this phase, and approximately 2.24 crore voters will exercise their franchise to decide the fate of the 692 candidates in the race.

The ongoing Uttar Pradesh Assembly Election 2022 has entered the fifth phase of voting with 692 candidates and constituencies including Ayodhya, Amethi, Tiloi, Salon (SC), Jagdishpur (SC) and Chitrakoot in the fray. The voting for 61 assembly seats across 12 districts of Uttar Pradesh is underway. The fifth phase elections are majorly in the eastern region of the state.

Around 2.24 crore voters will exercise their franchise in this phase in the districts of Sultanpur, Chitrakoot, Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Prayagraj, Barabanki, Bahraich, Shravasti and Gonda. Amethi and Raebareli, once considered Congress bastions, and Ayodhya, the epicentre of the Ram temple movement, is voting today as well. Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022: From Ayodhya to Amethi, Here Are The Five Key Contests in The Fifth Phase of UP Polls

A voter turnout of 34.83 per cent was recorded till 1 pm in the fifth phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, polling for which began at 7 am on Sunday

UP recorded 8.02 per cent voter turnout till 9 am. Prominent faces in the fray for the fifth phase include Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who is contesting from the Sirathu assembly seat in Kaushambi district. He is facing Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) candidate Pallavi Patel.

Other ministers in the fray are Siddharth Nath Singh from Allahabad West, Rajendra Singh, alias Moti Singh, from Patti (Pratapgarh), Nand Gopal Gupta Nadi from Allahabad South and Ramapati Shastri from Mankapur (Gonda).  Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022: Aparna Yadav Claims BJP Tsunami in UP, Says ‘Yogi Adityanath Govt To Return to Power With Thumping Majority’

In 2017, BJP had won 38 seats out of 55, while the SP had retained 15 and the Congress had won two seats.

The polling for the seven-phase Assembly Elections will end on March 7 while the counting of votes is scheduled on March 10.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 27, 2022 07:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).