UP 5th phase voting: 54.53% turnout recorded

Lucknow: Approximately 54.53 per cent voter turnout was registered in the fifth phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, as per the Election Commission.

The polling was held in 61 Assembly constituencies spread in 12 districts of Uttar Pradesh. The Election Commission said that 54.53 per cent voter turnout figure was an approximate trend as data from some polling stations takes time to reach. Polling ended at 6 pm.

The highest voter turnout of 59.64 per cent was recorded in Chitrakoot district followed by Ayodhya 58.01 per cent and Shrawasti 57.24 per cent.

The lowest turnout was registered in Prayagraj with 51.99 per cent, while Amethi registered 53.99 per cent turnout, Baharaich 54.60 per cent, Barabanki 54.65 per cent, Gonda 54.66 per cent, Kaushambi 57.01 per cent, Pratapgarh 51.99 per cent, Rae Bareli 56.06 per cent, and Sultanpur 54.88 per cent. Around 54 per cent polling was recorded till 5 pm on Sunday in the fifth phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls for 61 seats spread across 12 districts. Polling was reported to be peaceful, barring in Pratapgarh's Kunda assembly seat, where Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Gulshan Yadav's convoy was allegedly attacked by some people, police said.

Party workers claimed that Yadav sustained minor injuries in the attack. SP State president Naresh Uttam and party national spokesperson Rajendra Chowdhury have given a written complaint regarding the Kunda incident to the Election Commission.

Hours before voting began in Gonda, the Samajwadi Party candidate from the Colonelganj Assembly constituency, his brothers and supporters were booked for allegedly raping a woman and beating her up. The police said they booked SP candidate Yogesh Pratap Singh and others on Saturday night after they allegedly barged into the residence of the woman, and assaulted her and her family members for 'supporting the BJP'.

Around 2.24 crore people were eligible to vote in this phase. Till 5 pm, Amethi recorded 52.82 per cent voting, Ayodhya 58.01 per cent, Bahraich 54.68 per cent, Barabanki 54.75 per cent, Chitrakoot 59.50 per cent, Gonda 54.21 per cent, Kaushambi 56.96 per cent, Pratapgarh 50.20 per cent, Prayagraj 51.29 per cent, Raebareli 56.06 per cent, Shrawasti 57.24 per cent and Sultanpur 54.91 per cent, the commission said. As many as 692 candidates are in the fray for this round, including Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who is contesting from Sirathu in Kaushambi district. He is pitted against Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) candidate Pallavi Patel.

Some of the ministers in the fray are Siddharth Nath Singh from Allahabad West, Rajendra Singh from Patti (Pratapgarh), Nand Gopal Gupta Nadi from Allahabad South and Ramapati Shastri from Mankapur (Gonda).

Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias Raja Bhaiya, who is the MLA from Kunda since 1993, is once again in the fray as the Jansatta Dal candidate, with his former aide Gulshan Yadav contesting against him on a Samajwadi Party ticket. Union minister Anupriya Patel's mother and Apna Dal (K) leader Krishna Patel is contesting from the Pratapgarh seat. The Apna Dal (K) has entered into an alliance with the Samajwadi Party.