UP LS Polls: Over 11% voting by 9 am

Lucknow: An average voter turnout of over 11 percent was recorded in the first two hours of polling in eight parliamentary constituencies of Uttar Pradesh on Friday.

The polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.

Election Commission officials said 14.32 percent of votes were polled in Amroha, 12.28 percent in Meerut, 11 percent in Baghpat, 10.67 percent in Ghaziabad, 11.57 in Gautam Budhnagar, 11.99 in Bulandshahr, 12.20 percent in Aligarh and 10.09 in Meerut till 9 am.

Voting is taking place in Amroha, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh and Mathura constituencies.

Among the 91 candidates in the fray in this phase are actor-turned-politician Hema Malini, seeking a third term from Mathura on a BJP ticket, and actor Arun Govil, who portrayed the role of Lord Ram in television serial "Ramayan".

The ruling BJP has fielded Govil from his native place Meerut, Atul Garg from Ghaziabad, and Mahesh Sharma from Gautam Buddh Nagar. Danish Ali of the Congress is contesting the polls from Amroha.

There are more than 1.67 crore voters, 7,797 polling stations, and 17,704 polling booths in these eight Lok Sabha constituencies.