46.40 pc polling till 3 pm in UP

Lucknow, March 7 : An estimated 46.40 per cent out of 2.06 crore voters exercised their franchise till 3 pm for 54 seats spread over nine districts in the seventh and final phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections on Monday. According to the Joint Chief Electoral Officer, the maximum 50.75 per cent votes were polled in Chandauli district while Varanasi saw a 43.90 per cent turnout. Among other districts, 42.45 per cent votes were polled in Azamgarh, 47.50 per cent in Bhadohi, 45.56 per cent in Ghazipur, 47.18 per cent in Jaunpur, 46.86 per cent in Mau, 44.66 per cent in Mirzapur and 49.82 per cent per cent in Sonbhadra. Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party accused Janata Dal ( ted) candidate from Malhani seat in Jaunpur Dhananjay Singh of intimidating voters and asked the Election Commission to take cognizance of it. Earlier, in Chandauli district, polling remained disrupted for an hour at a booth in Dulhipur in Mughalsarai constituency after some notorious elements poured glue into an electronic voting machine. In a similar case in Jaunpur, glue was also poured into another EVM at booth 30 at the Chaktala primary school in Mariahu constituency. In both places, the EVMs were replaced. TEAM AB MR