AMN
The 5th phase of polling in UP saw a voter turnout of over 57% in 51 Assembly constituencies spread over 11 districts with Amethi and Faizabad assembly seats remaining the centre of attention.
The poll percentage was marginally higher than what was recorded in 2012.
The prominent contestants whose fate were sealed today are controversial minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati from the ruling Samajwadi Party, Amita Singh from Congress and BJP’s Garima Singh who were up against each other in Amethi seat.
Prajapati courted controversy again, this time by jumping the queue to cast his vote.
Deputy Election Commissioner Vijay Dev told reporters in New Delhi that polling was peaceful. He said, the poll percentage is expected to go upto 60 percent as several voters were in the queue to exercise their franchise at the close of the polling time.
In the last assembly elections, 57.09 percent voters had cast their votes while poll percentage in 2014 Lok Sabha elections was 55.58 percent in these areas.
Massive security arrangements were in place for peaceful and event free voting in 51 constituencies spread over 12 districts of Amethi, Sultanpur, Faizabad, Barabanki, Ambedkarnagar, Baharaich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Basti, Siddharthnagar and Sant Kabir Nagar from Awadh and eastern regions of the state.
With the end of today’s voting Political fate of several political heavyweights including 9 Ministers of State Government, State Assembly Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey, State Government Minister Awadesh Prasad, Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, Tej Narayan Pandey, Shankhlal Manjhi, Yasar Shah, Rammurti Verma, Vinod Singh alias Pandit Singh and Ramkaran Arya, former minister and BJP leader Ramapati Shastri, Anupama Jaisawal, Garima Singh and Devmani Dwivedi, BSP’s state President Ram Achal Rajbhar, former Minister Lalji Verma and Congress leader Amita Singh has been closed in EVMs.
A total of 607 candidates including 40 women are in the fray. Prestige of Samajwadi Party and BJP is on stake as SP had won 37 seats from this region in last assembly poll and BJP had won all Lok Sabha seats except Amethi in lost parliamentary polls.