UP Elections 2022 | Nearly 59% voter turnout in the first phase

Nearly 59% voter turnout was recorded till 6pm in the first phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, according to the Election Commission. Polling closed at 6 pm but those already in queue were allowed to vote, Election Commission officials said.

There were reports of technical snags in EVMs at some places, but voting was peaceful, they added.

Till 5 pm, Agra recorded 56.61% polling, Aligarh 57.25%, Baghpat 61.35%, Bulandshahr 60.52% , Gautam Buddh Nagar 54.77%, Ghaziabad 54.77%, Hapur 60.50%, Mathura 58.51%, Meerut 58.52%, Muzaffarnagar 62.14% and Shamli 61.78% an EC report said.

As many as 623 candidates, including 73 women, are in the fray for the first phase, and around 2.28 crore voters, including 1.24 crore men and 1.04 women besides others, are eligible to cast their franchise, state EC officials said.

Also Watch: UP Election 2022 Phase 3 Voting : 59 assembly seats voting in Phase 3

The first phase of polling covered the Jat-dominated belt of western Uttar Pradesh from where farmers had participated actively in the stir against the Centre's now-repealed agri laws in the national capital.

In 2017, the BJP had bagged 53 of the 58 seats in the region, while the Samajwadi Party and the BSP had got two seats each. One seat had gone to the Rashtriya Lok Dal.

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