UP bypolls: Less than 50 per cent turnout

An average of 49.37 per cent turnout was recorded in 11 Assembly seats,the lowest turnout being 28 per cent in Lucknow (West) Assembly constituency.

In Firozabad Lok Sabha seat,where Dimple Yadav,the daughter-in-law of the Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav is in the fray,the turnout was 53.5 per cent. During the May 2009 Lok Sabha polls,the turnout here was 48.16 per cent. The bypoll here was necessitated when SP’s Akhilesh Yadav,who also won from the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat,resigned from Firozabad.

Congress and BSP supporters clashed outside a polling booth over alleged bogus voting by BSP supporters in Pratappur village under the Jasrana Assembly segment of the Firozabad Lok Sabha constituency. Firearms were used in the clash in which four persons,including a woman,were injured. Polling was held up for over an hour due to the clash.

Umesh Sinha,the Chief Electoral Officer of UP,confirmed the incident in Firozabad but said the incident was not related to elections. “Polling was peaceful and no untoward incident was reported from any constituency,which went to by polls today,” he said. “The decision on repolling will be taken on Sunday after the report of the EC observers and verification of complaints received from different constituencies,” he added. He said a total of 49 lakh voters were expected to exercise their franchise. As many as 5,616 polling stations and 3,622 polling centres were set up in 11 Assembly and one Lok Sabha constituency. The EC had deputed 16 poll observers and 2,311 micro-observers to ensure free and fair polls.

The Assembly constituencies that went to polls today include Lucknow West,Bharthana,Etawah,Rari,Kol Asla,Haiser Bazaar,Jhansi,Padrauna,Lalitpur,Powayan,Isauli.