High turnout marks first phase of LS polls

Lucknow: As the first phase of Lok Sabha elections unfolded in western Uttar Pradesh on Friday, an average voter turnout of 61 per cent by the end of polling.

Polling took place across eight Lok Sabha constituencies: Pilibhit, Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina, Moradabad, and Rampur. Of these, five are General constituencies: Saharanpur, Kairana, Bijnor, Moradabad, and Rampur.

Specific turnout figures revealed till 5 pm Bijnor at 54.68 per cent, Kairana at 58.68 per cent, Moradabad at 57.65 per cent, Muzaffarnagar at 54.91 per cent, Nagina at 58.05 per cent, Pilibhit at 60.23 per cent, Rampur at 52.42 per cent, and Saharanpur at 63.29 per cent. Navdip Rinwa, Uttar Pradesh’s chief electoral officer, assured that the voting process was meticulously tabulated, with final figures to be available late Friday or early Saturday. He emphasised the smooth and peaceful conduct of polls across all eight constituencies, except for isolated scuffles among supporters in some areas, promptly resolved by law enforcement.

Rinwa highlighted the minimal instances of malfunctioning Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), with 50 ballot units, 50 control units, and 152 VVPAT machines replaced due to technical issues. Such replacements, he assured, were swiftly executed without significant disruption to the polling process.

Webcasting was implemented in 7,500 polling booths to monitor proceedings closely, with feeds observed at district control rooms, the chief electoral officer’s office in Lucknow, and the Election Commission of India in Delhi. Regarding complaints, Rinwa stated that while no major issues were reported, minor grievances were promptly addressed.

These included EVM malfunctions, instances of voter intimidation, and occasional lapses in identity verification at polling booths.