63.44% voter turnout recorded in single-phase Assembly Polls in Punjab; 57.43% voting registered in third phase in UP till 5 PM
New Delhi, February 20
Polling completed peacefully for the third phase of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. In this phase, voting took place in 59 seats of 16 districts.
Barring few sporadic incidents voting was peaceful in the third phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh. Voters came out in large numbers to exercise their franchise which is a good sign for democracy.
First-time voters and women voters were quite enthusiastic to cast their votes. Third phase has decided the political fate of 627 candidates including 97 women candidates.
The prominent faces in the fray in this phase include Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav, pragatishil Samajwadi Party president shivpal Singh Yadav, IPS turned politician aseem Arun, ministers in UP Government Satish mahana, ramnaresh Agnihotri, Neelima katiyar and Congress candidate Ajay kapoor. Out of the 59 seats which went for poll today, BJP bagged 49 last time while Samajwadi Party got 8,and Congress and BSP got one seat each in last assembly elections.
Till 5 PM, 57.43 percent average voter turnout was recorded in Uttar Pradesh and 63.44 percent in Punjab.
In Punjab, overall the polling remained peaceful. People in large numbers came out of their houses to exercise their right to vote. The percentage may touch the figure of 70 percent approximately till the final figures are released by the Chief Electoral Officer.
In Dinanagar constituency, a young boy came to the polling booth before his marriage and cast his vote. Similarly Jarnail Singh polled his vote in village Sujrana of Fazilka constituency before his marriage. The Senior Citizens above the age of 80 years polled their votes at polling booths despite getting the facility of ballot paper.
In Malerkotla, a 109 year old Muslim woman Naseebo polled her vote. The great enthusiasm was also witnessed among the first time voters. Most of the youth voted on the issue of education and employment. Divyangs were also not behind. At Gurdaspur Paramvir Singh who is unable to move, polled his vote at a polling booth with the help of a wheel chair. The transgender voters were also seen contributing in the formation of new government in the state. Meanwhile Chief Electoral Officer Dr ScKaruna Raju has thanked all for successful and peaceful completion of polling process.