First phase of UP assembly polls ends peacefully, says state CEO

Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ajay Kumar Shukla on Thursday said that the first phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls has concluded peacefully and no untoward incident has been reported from anywhere.

He was addressing a press conference in Lucknow.

"Elections have been concluded peacefully and no untoward incident has been reported from anywhere.

He also said that from the announcement of the election till the end of the campaign period, a total of Rs 12.57 crore cash and 3.87 lakh litres of liquor has been recovered from all the eleven districts which went to polls in the first phase.

As the first phase of the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly concluded on Thursday, the voter turnout for the Jat-dominant belt of western Uttar Pradesh was recorded to be nearly 60 per cent.

As per the Election Commission of India's Voter Turnout application, the total voter turnout for the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections was 59.87 per cent at the end of the session.

The districts which recorded the highest voter turnout were Shamli with 66.14 per cent, followed by Muzaffarnagar and Mathura at 65.32 per cent 62.90 per cent respectively.

Gautam Buddha Nagar reported only 54.38 per cent voter turnout till 7:55 pm.

Other than Gautam Buddha Nagar, the districts with the lowest reported voter turnout are Ghaziabad, Meerut, Agra with 52.43 per cent, 60 per cent and 60.23 per cent respectively.

Voting for the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections began today at 7 am.

This phase of polls covered 58 Assembly constituencies across 11 districts of the state.

The voting, which concluded at 6 pm, will decide the electoral fate of 623 candidates. The second phase of polling for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly is scheduled for February 14. 586 candidates are in the fray for 55 Assembly Constituencies in the second phase. Post the completion of the seven phased elections, the counting of votes will take place on March 10.

( With inputs from ANI )

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