Deputy Election Commissioner in charge of Uttar Pradesh Vijay Dev termed the turnout as "exemplary" and said it will "set the tone for the remaining six phases" to be held between February 15 and March 8.
An estimated 64% voter turnout was witnessed on Saturday in the first of the seven-phased Uttar Pradesh polls which passed off peacefully in 73 Assembly constituencies, barring some stray incidents of violence.
A total of 2.60 crore voters, including over 1.17 crore women and 1,508 belonging to third gender category were eligible to cast their ballot to decide the fate of 839 candidates.
The districts where polling was held are Hapur, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura, Hathras, Agra, Firozabad, Etah and Kasganj.
The first phase witnessed a 3% rise in voter turnout as in the same phase in 2012, covering these assembly constituencies, it was 61%.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to victory in Uttar Pradesh three years ago, and the election in the state that follows the shore of the river Ganges will set the tone for the 2019 national elections. More broadly, voters will deliver a mid-term verdict on Modi and his nationalist party after his demonetization decision.
Amid tight security, voting was conducted in 73 constituencies of western Uttar Pradesh, where violence has erupted frequently over the last few years. Fighting between Hindus and Muslims killed about 65 people in 2013. In the town of Kairana, where residents came to blows last year when the local BJP MP accused Muslims of driving out Hindus, voters from both communities turned out in large numbers.
(With agency inputs)
1. Women Voters Line Up
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Women queue to cast their votes at a polling station in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.
Image courtesy: AFP
2. Voters turn up
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Voters queue at a polling station to cast their votes during the state assembly election, in Garhmukteshwar, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday
Image courtesy: Reuters
3. Kairana in Uttar Pradesh
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People arrive to cast their vote during the state assembly election, in the village of Kairana, in the state of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday
Image courtesy: Reuters
4. Voting in UP Phase One
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A voter casts her ballot at a polling station in Muzaffarnagar
Image courtesy: AFP
5. UP Phase One Polls
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An election official seals an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) before the start of voting at a polling station in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh
Image courtesy: AFP
6. UP Phase One Elections
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An elderly voter is helped at a polling station to cast vote during the first phase of Assembly polls for Uttar Pradesh, in Firozabad on Saturday
Image courtesy: PTI
7. Inked
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A woman shows her ink marked finger after voting during the state assembly election, in the village of Kairana, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday
Image courtesy: Reuters
8. Phase One UP Elections
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A man casts his vote as polling officers look on at a polling booth during the state assembly election in Hapur, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday
Image courtesy: Reuters
9. Standing Guard
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A soldier stands guard as people queue to cast their vote during the state assembly election, in the village of Kairana, Uttar Pradesh
Image courtesy: Reuters
10. The battle for Uttar Pradesh
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Indian men wait in a queue to cast their votes at a polling station in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh
Image courtesy: AFP
