UP Elections: With 60.05% turnout Lucknow records the highest polling percentage after 70 years!

For the first time in 70 years, Lucknow's voter turnout breached the 60%-mark in the ongoing Assembly Election. According to reports, the average polling percentage in the nine assembly constituencies of Lucknow was marked at 60.05% on Wednesday, marking the completion of the fourth phase of the UP Assembly Election 2022. Apart from Lucknow, Pilibhit, Unnao, Banda, Fatehpur, Kheri, Hardoi, Rae Bareli and Sitapur also underwent polling in this phase.

Bakshi ka Talab marked the highest voter turnout in Lucknow

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Notably, the capital city had been marking a consistent increase in polling numbers for the last 10 years, however, the figure has crossed 60% for the first time since the 1952 elections, claimed the District Election Officer Abhishek Prakash. In the 2012 assembly polls, the city recorded a polling percentage of 56.49% whereas the number climbed on to 58.45% in the 2017 election.

Bakshi Ka Talab marked the highest polling percentage at 69% in Lucknow whereas Mohanlalganj recorded 67.48%. A close third, Malihabad reported 66.10% polling while Sarojini Nagar marked 60.10%. Among the remaining constituencies, Lucknow West recorded 58.21%, Lucknow Central 56.02%, Lucknow North 55.50%, Lucknow East 55.26%, and Lucknow Cantt 53.57%.

Missing names in the electoral roll

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While the voter turnout has reported an increase in the city this year, many eligible voters were unable to cast their votes despite having valid proof of identity and voter identity cards. On finding their names missing in the voter's list, many people created a ruckus at Sarojini Nagar and Ashiyana polling booths.

Talking about her ordeal, a resident of Lucknow North constituency Shafaq said, "After I was unable to find my name in the electoral roll, I shot into action. Filling forms on the NSVP website, trying to contact the EC in several ways but to no avail. On the day of polling, I was sent back from the booth requesting that I register for the voter ID again."

Harshita, another distressed voter from the Lucknow Central constituency said, "When I reached out to the poll official regarding the missing name, he told me this could have been corrected if the issue was reported earlier. He also told us to register fresh for the next polling session if the name is not there."

Case of the stolen vote!

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Meanwhile, a surprising incident also occurred during election polls in the city on Wednesday. When Rakesh Kumar came in to cast his vote in at Dalibagh's Indian Institue of Sugarcane Research, the officers told him that his vote had already been cast. Despite showing his hands with no ink marks as proof, Rakesh was not allowed to exercise his civic right.

As per section 49A in the Conduct of Election Rules, in such cases, citizens have a right to cast a challenging vote but this was also denied by the officers at the booth. Notably, apart from Rakesh, many people in Aashiyana also reported the same misconduct.