60 pc turnout in UP's 'peaceful' second phase poll

In keeping with the first phase poll in Uttar Pradesh, the voter turnout on Saturday once again crossed 60 per cent during the second round of the seven-phased polling in the country's most populous state.

"Despite the chilly morning, people came out in large numbers to cast their vote in almost all of the 59 assembly constituencies that went to poll across nine districts of the state on Saturday. No wonder therefore the final polling percentage could go above 60 per cent, nearly touching the first phase turnout of 62 per cent," UP chief electoral officer Umesh Sinha told the media.

"Even as we were keeping our fingers crossed, on account of the various complexities prevailing in the area, polling was carried out very peacefully, without a single untoward incident being reported from anywhere," he said.

He described the task as 'huge', since the number of candidates and the spread over of the constituencies was very large. A giant police force of over 120,000 cops including about 55,000 central para-military personnel and 10,000 personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary was deployed to maintain a strict vigil in the crime-prone, communally sensitive and poverty ridden expanse of Eastern UP.

Reportage: Sharat Pradhan

Additional inputs by PTI

The voting has sealed the fate of 1,098 candidates out of whom the electorate of 1.94 crore voters were to elect their 59 representatives for the 403-member state assembly .

Among the districts going to poll on Saturday were Azamgarh, Gorakhpur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Maharajganj, Deoria, Mau, Sant Kabir Nagar and Kushinagar, where 20,426 polling stations with some 20,800 electronic voting machines were put in place.

The phase is crucial for the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party, which had bagged as many as 30 of the 59 seats at the last state assembly election in 2007.

While Samajwadi Party won 21 seats, the Bhartiya Janata Party got six 6 and Congress trailed last with two seats here.

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A number of prominent leaders including 30 sitting MLAs and 21 former ministers were in fray.

Prominent among those whose prestige was at stake were UP assembly speaker Sukhdeo Rajbhar, BJP state president Surya Pratap Shahi, BSP state chief Swami Prasad Maurya, dreaded mafia don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari as well as Peace Party president Dr Ayub.

Significantly, SP had fielded Aman Mani Tripathi, the son of jailed mafia-turned-politician Amarmani Tripathi, who stood convicted for the murder of Hindi poetess Madhumita Shukla, his girlfriend.

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Stray incidents of violence were reported in some districts.

In Dakshin Tola area in Mau district, police used force when a large number of people gathered outside a polling station and indulged in unruly behaviour. Unconfirmed reports said six persons were injured in the firing.

Police also used force in Mahaveer Akhara hamlet in Rasra area in Ballia district after some local residents indulged in slogan shouting.

There were reports of voters boycotting polls at a number of places including in Bheeta in Ballia district and Hathiya in Azamgarh districts, besides minor complaints related to problems with electronic voting machines.

There were reports of voters boycotting polls at Bheeta in Ballia district and Hathiya in Azamgarh districts, besides minor complaints related to problems with electronic voting machines.

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