The battle for Uttar Pradesh began on Thursday with polling at 58 assembly seats spread across 11 districts in the western part of the state.
Polling started at 7 am and closed at 6 pm and there were reports of technical snags in EVMs at some places, but voting was peaceful, Election Commission officials said.
Here are glimpses of how the people voted in the first phase.
IMAGE: A man carries his elderly mother in his lap after cast her vote at a polling station, during the first phase of UP Assembly elections, in Meerut, on Thursday, February 10, 2022. Photograph: PTI Photo
IMAGE: People wait in queues at a polling station in Ghaziabad. Photograph: PTI Photo
IMAGE: Voters undergo thermal screening before entering the polling booth at Vaidpura village, in Gautam Buddha Nagar. Photograph: Vijay Verma/PTI Photo
IMAGE: A voter gets her finger inked at a polling station in Dadri. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo
IMAGE: A citizen prepares to cast his vote at a polling station in Muradnagar. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo
IMAGE: Women stand in a queue to cast their votes at a polling station in Vaidpura village, Gautam Buddha Nagar. Photograph: Vijay Verma/PTI Photo
IMAGE: Women flash victory sign as they wait to cast votes at a polling station in Meerut. Photograph: PTI Photo
IMAGE: A police personnel stands guard as voters wait to cast their votes at a polling booth in Mathura. Photograph: ANI Photo
IMAGE: A citizen gets her finger marked with indelible ink as she prepares to cast her vote at a polling station in Ghaziabad. Photograph: Arun Sharma/PTI Photo
IMAGE: An elderly voter leaves a polling station at a village in Meerut. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo
IMAGE: People holding their Aadhaar cards while waiting to cast their votes at a polling station in Vrindavan, Mathura. Photograph: PTI Photo
IMAGE: People stand in queues to cast their votes at a polling station in Dadri. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo
IMAGE: Women voters show their ink marked finger after casting their vote in Gautam Buddha Nagar. Photograph: Vijay Verma/PTI Photo
IMAGE: People check their names in the voters' list at a polling station in Dadri. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo
IMAGE: 'Sadhus' wait to get their voting slip before casting their vote, from an officer at a polling station in Vrindavan. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters