Impressive voter turnout for fifth phase of Uttar Pradesh polls

Lucknow: The fifth round of polling in Uttar Pradesh's (UP) seven-phased assembly elections in 49 constituencies yesterday witnessed a 59.4 per cent turnout, an official said.

"Today's turnout was an impressive 59.4 per cent. In fact, it would have gone even higher if more voters had stepped out of their homes in Kanpur, where the polling was 52 per cent," state chief electoral officer Umesh Sinha told IANS.

Interestingly, even as the polling remained low in Kanpur, the state's largest city, voters turned out in far larger numbers in smaller towns and rural areas.

"The highest polling was recorded in Lalitpur (the remotest UP district, surrounded by Madhya Pradesh on three sides)," Sinha said.

Police deployment

As many as 829 candidates were in the fray for the 49 seats spread across 13 districts. There was heavy police deployment for this phase of polling, which covered a large part of central UP, better known as the state's badlands.

Sources confirmed that more than 800 companies of central paramilitary and state armed police were in place to ensure a smooth, free and fair poll.

"Every polling booth had at least two paramilitary personnel, two state armed cops plus four home guards," a top police officer disclosed.

Apart from Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's home district Etawah, the other districts which voted on Thursday were Mainpuri, Firozabad, Etah, Auraiya, Rama Bai Nagar, Kanshi Ram Nagar, Kanpur, Jhansi, Hamirpur, Lalitpur, Mahoba and Jalaun.

Caste-based politics

This belt was an acid test for Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is believed to command a lot of influence over both Yadavs and other backward classes in the region.

Likewise, the prestige of BJP star campaigner Uma Bharti is also at stake because she was specially brought in from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh to attract the Lodhi backward caste community.