Lucknow, Apr 26 (UNI) Polling for the third phase of the three-tier panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh covering 20 districts were underway in a peaceful note on Monday.
Over 3.05 crore voters were eligible to cast their votes in these 20 districts at 49,789 polling booths to decide the fate of 272821 candidates for total 2,14,138 posts.
Polling which commenced at 0700 hours will end at 1800 hours.
State Election Commission (SEC) officials here said that polling was peaceful and in the first two hours around 10 per cent of the voters have exercised their rights.
Long queues of the voters particularly of the women were witnessed at most of the polling booths.
.
SEC said in the second phase, 73231 gram panchayat members, 55 pradhans, 371 khetra panchayat members and 6 zila panchayat members, were elected unopposed.
There are a total of 746 posts of Zilla Panchayat member, 18530 of Kshetra Panchayat member, 14379 posts of Gram Pradhan and 180473 posts of Gram Panchayat ward member in the second phase.
The first phase of polling in 18 districts were held on April 15, when around 71 per cent of the over 3 crore voters used their franchise. However, due to violence in some places in the first phase, repolling were ordered in 20 booths of 9 districts on April 21.
In the second phase of polling held on April 19 in 20 districts, when around 73 per cent voters used their franchise.
The SEC has appointed 20 observers to monitor the transparency and fairness of the polling in this phase while 207549 polling personnel and officials are deployed in this phase.
Polling will be held in the districts are: Shamli ,Meerut ,Moradabad ,Pilibhit, Kasganj, Firozabad, Auraiya ,Kanpur Dehat, Jalaun, Hamirpur ,Fatehpur, Unnao, Amethi, Barabanki ,Balrampur ,Siddharthnagar, Deoria ,Chandauli ,Mirzapur and Ballia.
Elections for 58,189 village panchayats of Uttar Pradesh are taking place in four phases, between April 15 and 29, with the counting of votes scheduled for May 2.
The polls will be a key test of the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government’s popularity, and an opportunity for opposition parties to gauge the public mood, particularly as it comes against the backdrop of persisting farmers’ protests in the country that have also gripped parts of UP.
State primary teachers association have opposed the panchayat polls in view of the pandemic.
The association alleged that around a dozen teachers doing poll duties have died due to Covid . Meanwhile, State Election Commissioner Manoj Kumar has said that all observers have been instructed to follow the model code of conduct in panchayat elections.
UNI MB GK 1008