UP Panchayat polls: 10.51 pc voter turnout till 9 am

Uttar Pradesh recorded a voter turnout of 10.51 per cent till 9 am across 17 districts in the fourth and final phase of the Uttar Pradesh panchayat elections, according to the State Election Commission (SEC).

Voting began at 7 am. People were seen queued up to cast their votes at various polling booths while following COVID-19 protocols.

The polls are being held for the posts of members of zila panchayats and kshetra panchayats.Over 5.27 lakh candidates are in the fray for more than 2.10 lakh seats across 17 districts in this round of the election. More than 2.98 crore voters will be casting their votes in the final phase of the polls.

Voting is being held in the districts of Ambedkar Nagar, Aligarh, Kushinagar, Kaushambi, Ghazipur, Farrukhabad, Bulandshahr, Basti, Bahraich, Banda, Mau, Mathura, Shahjahanpur, Sambhal, Sitapur, Sonbhadra and Hapur.

According to the State Election Commission (SEC), there are 10,679 candidates in the fray for 738 posts of zila panchayat members in the final phase. A total of 55,408 candidates are contesting for 18,356 posts of kshetra panchayat members.

While 1,14,400 candidates are in the fray for posts of gram panchayat members, 3,47,436 contestants are fighting for 1,77,648 posts in gram panchayat wards, it said.

The first, second, and third phases of the polls were held on April 15,19 and 26 respectively. The counting of votes will be done on May 2.

( With inputs from ANI )