UP polls: 57% voter turnout till 5 pm

Lucknow: An estimated 57 percent of the electorate exercised their franchise today in the fifth phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections spread over 49 seats, including the stronghold of the Yadav family and former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh. Polling started at 7 am amidst tight security and an estimated 57 percent of the 1.56 crore electorate cast their votes till 5 pm, Election Commission sources said here adding the final turnout figure may go up as polling continued at a number of places. [caption id=“attachment_223318” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“An estimated 57 percent of the 1.56 crore electorate cast their votes till 5 pm. PTI”]  [/caption] In 2007 assembly elections, a total 47.57 percent votes had been cast in this phase. There were reports of voters boycott in Etah, Lalitpur, Jalaun and Hamirpur over development issues and minor scuffles between election officials and voters in Kanpur. The Kanpur cantt seat area saw some tension as the local Congress candidate alleged that 75 percent of voters’ names were missing from the voter list despite their having voter-ID cards. Angry voters created a ruckus but heavy police presence prevented the situation from worsening. Senior officials said the problem arose due to a minor error in the list which was changed after delimitation and the problem was resolved. Another part of cantt seat also witnessed similar confusion in the voter list and slogan-shouting among rival party supporters. In this phase, the electoral fate of 829 candidates, including that of Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Shivpal Singh Yadav, BJP leader Uma Bharati and former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh would be decided. PTI