Assembly polls: UP records 37.45 pc voter turnout till 1 pm

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 23 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh recorded a voter turnout of 37.45 per cent till 1 pm as voting is underway for the fourth phase of the State Assembly elections on Wednesday.
According to the Election Commission of India, the Pilibhit constituency recorded the highest voter turnout of 41.21 per cent followed by Lakhimpur Kheri (40.97 per cent) and Fatehpur (40.17 per cent).
Hardoi continues to witness the lowest percentage of voter turnout till 1 pm, that is, 34.45 per cent whereas the Unnao constituency recorded 35.01 per cent voting turnout.
As the polling began at 7 am today, the senior political leaders from different parties cast their votes including Defence minister Rajnath Singh, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, and MoS Home Ajay Mishra Teni.
Polling is underway in 59 Assembly seats which are spread across the districts of Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Hardoi, Unnao, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Banda, and Fatehpur.
The state is witnessing a multi-cornered contest with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party (SP)-Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) alliance, and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Congress as principal contenders.
The fate of 624 candidates will be sealed in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) today.
Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh are being held in seven phases and will conclude on March 7.
Poling for the fourth phase is underway today. Voting for the remaining three phases will take place on February 27, March 3, and 7.
The counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI)