UP urban body polls: Religious leader Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali votes in Lucknow

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 4 : The head of the Islamic Centre of India Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali cast his vote in Lucknow and also urged people to exercise their franchise in the first phase of Municipal Corporation elections.

"I appeal to all the voters to cast their votes for the UP Municipal Elections 2023. Municipal elections are the election of a local issue for which voting is being done," Maulana Khalid Rasheed said.

Reacting to 'The Kerala Story' controversy he said, "We don't watch any movie, we also tell people to not watch any movies."

Voting began in 37 districts of 9 divisions and 10 municipal corporations. In 10 municipal corporations, voting will be held in 830 wards, 9,699 polling places and 2,658 polling stations are set up in Municipal Corporations.

The first phase of Municipal Corporation elections began at 7 am on Thursday amid tight security arrangements. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak were among the first to cast votes.

On the other hand, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Thursday cast her vote and expressed her hope to receive a "good response" from the public for the party.

The polling for the second phase will take place on May 11 to elect representatives for the posts across 760 local bodies in the state. The counting of votes will take place on May 13.