About 50% electorate on Saturday exercised their franchise in bypolls to 11 Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh till 5 pm. Around 53.2% votes were polled in Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat where Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his MP wife Dimple Yadav cast their votes, while 49.78% votes were polled in 11 Assembly seats, an official statement issued here said. Among the Assembly constituencies, Thakurdwara in Moradabad and Nighasan in Lakhimpur witnessed brisk polling with 65 and 60 % turn out respectively, but it was tardy in Noida where only 31% votes were polled followed by 32 % for Lucknow east seat.
Security personnel, including those of the Central forces, have been deployed in constituencies along with micro- observers to ensure free and fair elections, according to the election office. Tight security arrangements were made at all the polling centres even as video recording and photography were also done. The Assembly seats where bypolls are being held include Saharanpur city, Bijnor, Thakurdwara, Noida, Nighasan Lucknow east, Hamirpur, Charkhari, Sirathu, Balha and Rohania.
Bye-elections are also being held in Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat, which was vacated by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav. Eleven Assembly seats fell vacant after 10 BJP MLAs and one of its ally, Apna Dal, were elected to the Lok Sabha. Arrangement of web casting was also made at 176 sensitive polling stations.
While BSP is not contesting the bypoll, Congress and SP have fielded candidates on all 11 Assembly seats, whereas BJP is contesting on 10 and its ally Apna Dal on one. In Mainpuri, BSP and Congress have not fielded their candidates. Here the contest is between Mulayam's kin Tej Pratap Singh and BJP's Shiv Singh Shakya. About 50% polling was registered in Rohaniya Assembly seat, which falls under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.
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