Over 30 per cent votes cast till 1 pm in UP bypolls

Over 30 per cent votes were cast till 1 pm as voting was underway for by-elections to seven assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday in which 88 candidates are contesting. Polling started at 7 am amid tight security arrangements and COVID-19 guidelines in place.

Till 11 am, just 18.49 per cent voters had exercised their franchise. The figure went up to 30.41 per cent by 1 pm, the Election Commission (EC) said. The voting percentages till 1 pm were 33 per cent in Bangarmau, 28.83 per cent in Bulandshahr, 31.85 per cent in Deoria, 24.50 per cent in Ghatampur, 28 per cent in Malhani, 35.70 per cent in Naugaon Sadat and 31 per cent in Tundla.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath appealed to voters to participate in the "mega festival of democracy". "Voting in the bypolls to seven assembly seats in UP has begun. All the voters must participate in the mega festival of democracy. Everyone should exercise caution and discharge the duty of casting vote," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

"Democracy will win, while coronavirus will be defeated," the chief minister added. The Samajwadi Party also urged voters to come out of their homes and vote in large numbers.

"Those in power and responsible for worried farmers, insecure women power, poor health facilities, jobless labourers, collapsed law and order should be given a reply during the ongoing bypolls to UP Legislative Assembly. Come out of houses, and vote," the party said in a tweet in Hindi. The electoral fortune of 88 candidates, including nine women, will be decided by 24.34 lakh voters.

This is the first democratic exercise to be held in the state post the COVID-19 lockdown when voters will be eligible to exercise their franchise at 3,655 polling booths spread over 1,754 polling centres. The constituencies are Tundla, Ghatampur, Naugaon Sadat, Bulandshahr, Bangarmau, Deoria and Malhani.

Six of these seats were held by the BJP. The Malhani seat was with the Samajwadi Party. "All preparations to ensure a free, fair and peaceful polling keeping in mind the coronavirus pandemic have been made. Voters will have to adhere to the COVID-19 protocol and maintain safe distance among themselves while casting votes," Chief Electoral Officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said.

Adequate security forces have been deployed to maintain peace and ensure orderly polling at the booths, including 371 "critical" booths. Counting of votes will take place on November 10.

The Yogi Adityanath government has been facing opposition flak over the law and order situation in the state, particularly after the Hathras and the Balrampur rape and murder cases. The Naugaon Sadat seat fell vacant after the death of cabinet minister Chetan Chauhan. The BJP has fielded his wife Sangeeta Chauhan for the bypoll hoping to encash sympathy votes.

In Ghatampur (Kanpur), the bypoll was necessitated due to the death of sitting MLA and cabinet minister Kamal Rani Varun, while in Tundla (Firozabad), MLA S P Singh Baghel was elected to Lok Sabha. Both Chetan Chauhan and Kamal Rani Varun had succumbed to COVID-19. The Bangarmau (Unnao) seat fell vacant following the conviction of Kuldeep Singh Sengar in a rape case. He had won on a BJP ticket but the party dumped him following a hue and cry after his conviction.

The seats of Bulandshahr, Deoria and Malhani will go to bypolls due to the demise of sitting MLAs Virendra Singh Sirohi, Janmejay Singh and Parasnath Yadav (SP) respectively. Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad's Azad Samaj Party is testing its electoral popularity in Bulandshahr by fielding Md Yameen in the run up to the 2022 UP assembly polls when the party would look forward to consolidating its hold among the Dalits.

While Bulandshahr has the highest number of 18 candidates, Ghatampur has the lowest number of six contestants. Sixteen candidates are in the fray in Malhani (Jaunpur), 14 each in Naugaon Sadat (Amroha) and Deoria, 10 each in Bangarmau (Unnao) and Tundla (Firozabad).

UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu said in the course of the campaign that the public has decided to teach the ruling BJP a lesson. "This will be visible in the bypolls. The outcome of these bypolls will mark the commencement of the decline of the BJP and resurgence of the Congress," he had said while slamming the state government over the law and order situation.

Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati has appealed to people to vote for her party candidates and send a political message to the rivals, while SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has said that these bypolls should be taken seriously. "The results of the bypolls will determine the path of UP politics. Voters have to choose between development and destruction," Yadav had said.

Facing opposition criticism over the law and order situation in the state, Chief Minister Adityanath has said that his government will come out with a law to deal with "love jihad" and used the Hindu funeral chant "Ram Naam Satya Hai" to threaten those who don't respect their daughters and sisters..