UP polls: Over 59 pc voter turnout in 5th phase

UP polls: Over 59 pc voter turnout in 5th phase

Over 59 pc turnout was recorded in the fifth phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections for 49 seats spread over 13 districts, including strongholds of Mulayam Singh Yadav family and former CM Kalyan Singh. Election Commission officials in Lucknow and Delhi said 59.2 percent of the 1.56 crore electorate cast its franchise on Thursday. In the 2007 assembly elections, a total 47.57 percent votes were cast in these districts. In Thursday’s phase, the fate of 829 candidates, including that of Leader of the Opposition in the UP Assembly Shivpal Singh Yadav, BJP leader Uma Bharati and former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh would be decided. Voters boycotted polls at seven polling stations in Kanpur Nagar, Lalitpur, Etawah and Hamirpur districts over issues of lack of development and minor scuffles between election officials and voters, said Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi in Delhi.