Lucknow, May 4 (UNI) Polling for the first phase of urban local body polls in Uttar Pradesh started at a slow pace as only 9.98 per cent out of more than 2.40 crore votes were polled in the first 2 hours till 9 am on Thursday, a State Election Commission (SEC) spokesman said.
The spokesman said that polling was being held at 23,626 polling booths set up in 7,368 polling centers across the state peacefully as no untoward incident was reported so far.
In this phase, voting is being held in 37 districts of nine divisions. Polling which began at 7 am will continue till 6 pm.
In the first phase, voting for the post of mayor in 10 municipal corporations is being done through electronic voting machines (EVMs), while voting for 104 municipal council presidents and 276 Nagar panchayat presidents, 830 Councilors, 2,776 municipal members and 3,682 Nagar panchayat members is being held through ballot papers.
In the first phase, 10 corporators, one chairperson of Nagar Palika Parishad and Nagar Panchayat each and 73 members have already been elected unopposed. The nine divisions covered in this phase are Saharanpur, Moradabad, Agra, Jhansi, Prayagraj, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Devipatan.
Tight security arrangements have been made to ensure fair and peaceful polling and Total 19,880 Inspectors and Sub-Inspector along with 1,01,477 head constables and constables and 47,985 home guards have been deployed on poll duty.
In addition to the police force 86 companies and two platoons of PAC and 35 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have also been deployed. Besides, 7,500 under trainee SI have also been deployed for the purpose of election training.
While Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath exercised his franchise in Gorakhpur, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh cast his vote at a polling center in Lucknow. Among prominent leaders, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati also exercised her franchise in Lucknow.
Talking to reporters after casting his vote, CM Yogi appealed to the voters to vote, saying, "Voting is not only a democratic right but also a duty given by the makers of our great Constitution. By making better use of this right in the municipal elections, we can contribute towards strengthening the urban system, making smart and safe cities."
He said that in order to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of orderly development in urban areas, the right to vote should be considered as a duty and it should be used better.
Describing voting as a festival of democracy and congratulating everyone in this festival, the CM said that more than 2.40 crore voters in the state will participate in the entire municipal elections in two phases and exercise their right to vote to strengthen the urban system.
He said that the State Election Commission has made good arrangements for voting. "Also, it is God's special grace that the weather has become so pleasant. May 4 has not seen such pleasant weather.
Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak and his wife Namrata Pathak also cast their votes in Lucknow. Jal Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh along with his wife cast his vote in Orai in Jalaun district.
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