Rae Bareli voter turnout lowest in Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW: Braving the scorching sun and sizzling temperatures that touched 44 degrees, a comparatively high voter turnout of 59.06 per cent was witnessed in the 14 Lok Sabha seats where polling was held on Thursday. In 2009, in the same phase , the voter turnout was 47.9 per cent.

The morning hours witnessed maximum rush at polling stations and in some places, nearly 40 per cent votes were polled before noon. As the temperatures rose, almost all polling stations wore a completely deserted look. In the evening, crowds returned to cast their vote.

The voter turnout in Lucknow, which had the maximum 29 candidates, including BJP president Rajnath Singh, was 54 per cent compared to 35 per cent in 2009.

In Rae Bareli, where Congress president Sonia Gandhi is contesting, the voter turnout was 52 per cent, which is the lowest in this phase.
The highest voter turnout was recorded in Jhansi that had 70.4 per cent turnout. BJP’s Uma Bharti is a key contestant here.

The constituencies that went to poll on Wednesday included Dhaurhara, Sitapur, Misrikh, Unnao, Mohanlalganj, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Kanpur, Jalaun, Jhansi, Hamirpur, Banda, Barabanki and Fatehpur.
The key contestants include BJP president Rajnath Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

VIOLENCE IN JHANSI

Violence was reported form Jhansi, where Aniruddha Sharma, the son of BSP candidate Anuradha Sharma and a dalit supporter were brutally attacked in Bamer village under Babina Assembly area, reportedly by Samajwadi supporters.

Talking to reporters, Mr Sharma said that he had been receiving reports that dalits were not being allowed to cast their vote in about 40 booths in the area.

“I reached the area and as I got off my vehicle to check, I saw around a mob of 100 young men, with faces covered, attacking us with lathis, firing and damaging my vehicle. I ran for my life” he said. His vehicle was damaged in the attack.

Mr Sharma has given a written complaint at Nawabad police station in Jhansi naming SP supporters Sangram Singh Yadav and 14 others and charging them of the attack. A formal FIR has not been registered till now. Re-polling has also not been ordered at the concerned polling stations.

BJP candidate Uma Bharti has threatened to sit on a dharna in protest against the incident. She and Congress candidate Pradeep Jain Aditya have written to the Election Commission demanding re-poll.

Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports of firing and alleged misuse of state machinery have also been reported from Babina, Lalitpur and Mahrauni areas.