34.92% voting recorded in UP

Lucknow, May 12 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh recorded 34.92 per cent polling till 1 p.m. on Sunday for 14 of the state's 80 constituencies in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. There was a steady stream of people to polling booths as polling began at 7 a.m.

Till 1 p.m., Sultanpur recorded 38.87 per cent voter turnout, Pratapgarh 34.39, Phulpur 29.20, Allahabad 32.38, Ambedkar Nagar 38.20, Shravasti 32.64, Dumariyaganj 34.40, Basti 38.68, Sant Kabir Nagar 37, Lalganj 32.79, Azamgarh 34.80, Jaunpur 34.53, Machhlishahr 35.80 and Bhadohi 35.26 per cent.

Violence broke out in Umri village in Bhadohi and several vehicles were torched after a Police Inspector slapped a villager, who complained about lack of shade for the voters in queue at a polling booth. District Election Officer Rajendra Prasad said officials were later instructed to improve the arrangements.

Dozens of voters in Bhadohi's Singhpur village could not vote as there names were missing from the electoral roles. Voting was delayed in some booths in Jaunpur and Machhlishahr due to technical glitches in EVMs.

In Pratapgarh district, Congress leader Pramod Tiwari and Kunda MLA Raja Bhaiya have been put under house arrest, along with 11 others, as a preventive measure. All of them will be able to leave their homes only to cast their votes.

Of the polling stations, 4,995 have been categorised as "sensitive", an official euphemism to mean they are prone to violence. Paramilitary troopers were deployed in these booths.

Umashankar Singh voted at polling booth no. 282 in Machhlishahr constituency after performing the last rites of his elder brother at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi.

Chief Electoral Officer L. Venkateshwarlu said that a total of 2.57 crore voters are eligible to decide the fate of 177 candidates in this phase.

Prominent candidates include former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who is contesting from Azamgarh, Bharatiya Janata Party's Rita Bahuguna (Allahabad) and Union Minister Maneka Gandhi (Sultanpur).