Continuing the trend that began with the first phase of polling, Uttar Pradesh recorded 59 per cent polli-ng in the second phase on Saturday in eastern UP, known as Purvanchal, which covered 59 Assem-bly seats spread over the nine districts of Sant Kabir Nagar, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Azamgarh, Mau, Ballia and Ghazipur. The first phase had recorded around 63 per cent polling. This phase has a total of 1,098 candidates and 1.94 crore voters.
The voter turnout is 36 per cent more compared to 2007. Deputy election commissioner Alok Shukla said in New Delhi, “These constituencies witnessed a turnout of 43.41 per cent in the 2007 Assembly electio-ns.” In 2007, the number of seats in this phase was 62 but after delimitation the number came down to 59.
The constituency that recorded the maximum polling was Ghazipur (61 per cent) and the ones with minimum polling were Ballia and Deoria (54 per cent each). State chief electoral officer Umesh Sinha told journalists in Lucknow that “an estimated 59 per cent of the electorate cast votes in the second round”.
No untoward incident was reported in Phase 2, except for a mild clash between BSP state president Swami Prasad Maurya and security personnel in Padrauna. The EC received 16 complaints of faulty EVMs that were immediately replaced.
The slight fall in voter turnout in this phase, compared to the first phase, is mainly due to the large presence of migratory labour in Purvanchal. Bes-ides, the region — known for its deep casteist roots and backwardness — has always recorded a low voter turnout compared to the rest of UP.
Polls were held amidst unprecedented security arrangements since the phase included some highly sensitive constituencies in Azamgarh, Mau, Ghazipur and Gorakhpur districts. The international border with Nepal and inter-state border with Bihar had been sealed off since Thursday evening. Prominent candidates whose fate was sealed in Saturday’s polling include UP Assembly Speaker Sukhdev Rajbhar, BSP state president Swami Prasad Maurya, BJP state president Surya Pratap Shahi, Peace Party president Dr Ayub, and “dons-turned politicians” Mukhtar Ansari and Hari Shankar Tiwari.