Lucknow: An estimated 57 per cent votes were on Tuesday cast in the sixth and penultimate phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls in 68 seats across 13 districts, popularly known as the Jat land, where voting was by and large peaceful.
“Barring minor incidents, polling process was peacefully over at 5 PM and as per an estimate 57 per cent of 2.17 crore voters exercised their franchise,” an Election Commission official said. The polls will decide the fate of 1103 candidates, including 86 women. Police used mild force to disperse a local BSP leader and his supporters who created a ruckus at a polling centre at Singhani gate area in Ghaziabad on the outskirts fo Delhi. They were protesting against the absence of booth level officers to distribute voter slips. Similarly, in Agra, people were agitated over alleged irregularities at a centre at Ahmadia Hameedia college in Mantola. In Bhatta Parsaul, which was the centre of the land acquisition row, farmers were seen coming out to vote. Their leader Manvir Singh Tevatia, who had spearheaded the farmers’ agitation, is fighting elections from jail. The area falls under the Jewar Assembly seat. Congress has fielded Dhirendra Singh from Jewar. He was the man on whose bike Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had reached Bhatta Parsaul last year. In CM Mayawati’s native Badalpur village, farmers had lined up to cast their vote even before the polling began. BSP has fielded Satvir Gujjar, the sitting MLA, while Congress has fielded Samir Bhatti. Bhatti had once served as MLA from Dadri and his father Mahinder Singh Bhatti represented the seat twice. BJP has fielded Nawab Singh Nagar, who was twice elected MLA from the seat. Samajwadi Party has fielded Raj Kumar Bhatti.
This phase would also decide the fate of youth face of RLD Jayant Chaudhary, as well as Energy Minister Ramveer Upadhyaya, deputy leader of BJP Legislative Party Hukkum Singh and former minister Rajveer Singh, who is also son of former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh. (PTI)