Goa records high voter turnout, moderate voter response in UP, Uttarakhand
Goa recorded a high voter turnout of 78.94 per cent in the single phase election. UP and Uttarakhand recorded 62.52 per cent and 59.61 per cent turnout,
AMN / WEB DESK
Polling passed off by and large peacefully for the second phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh and Single-phase of voting in Goa and Uttarakhand.
In Uttar Pradesh, the second phase 55 seats of 9 districts of state went for the poll. According to the election commission, more than 60 percent of polling has been recorded in this phase.
In the wake of the Covid pandemic, all necessary arrangements have been made for the free fair and corona free polling. The districts where polling took place today are Saharanpur, Bijnor, Amroha, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly.
Barring a few sporadic incidents voting was peaceful in the second 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. The second phase has decide the political fate of 586 candidates including 69 women candidates.
The prominent faces in the fray in this phase include senior Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan, former minister in UP government Dharam Singh Saini, Dharam pal Singh Ministers in state government Suresh Khanna, Baldev aulakh, Gulab Devi, and former mayor of Bareilly, Supriya Aron. Shahjahanpur badayun and Sambhal. Out of the 55 seats which went for poll today, BJP bagged 38 last time while Samajwadi Party got 15, and Congress got 2 seats in last assembly elections.
Goa
In Goa, Out of 40 constituencies, one seat is reserved for the Scheduled Castes. An estimated over 75 percent voting was recorded till 5 pm.
In 2017, the coastal state had registered a turnout of 82.56 percent. The electoral fortune of 301 candidates including 26 women have been now sealed in EVMs.
Important candidates whose fate will be decided are Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Deputy Chief Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar, Opposition leader Digambar Kamat, Aam Aadmi Party Chief Ministerial candidate Amit Palekar, Goa Forward Party Chief Vijay Sardesai, and independent candidate Utpal Parikar.
For the first time, BJP is contesting in all the 40 assembly seats, while Congress and Goa Forward Block (GFP) are contesting in 40 seats.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) is contesting in Goa assembly elections for the first time. The TMC has made an alliance with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and the alliance is contesting 39 seats. Aam Aadmi Party is also contesting in 39 seats. While NCP and Shiv Sena’s alliance is fighting in 23 seats. The newly formed Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) has fielded candidates in 38 constituencies.
Uttarakhand
In Uttarakhand, there was no information of any untoward incident from any constituency during the polling. The official polling figures are expected by late night.
More than 81 lakh voters of the state have decided the fate of 6 hundred 32 candidates by pressing the button of EVMs. Chief Minister and BJP leader Pushkar Singh Dhami, Congress senior leader, and former Chief Minister Harish Rawat were among the prominent leaders who were in the fray. The pace of voting, which started at 8 am today, was initially slow, but by the end of the evening, a large number of voters reached the polling stations and cast their votes amid Covid protocol, to decide the political futures of 632 candidates. 11 thousand 6 hundred 97 booths were made for voting, which includes separate booths for women and differently-abled voters. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.