UP Polls: `Pehle matdan, phir jalpan` - PM Modi asks people to follow Covid-19 rules and vote

Uttar Pradesh election on 58 assembly seats covering 11 districts of the state begins today. PM Modi urged voters to enthusiastically take part in the democratic process and exercise their franchise

New Delhi: Voting for the first phase of Uttar Pradesh elections on 58 assembly seats covering 11 districts of the state begins today (February 10) at 7 am. Ahead of the polls, PM Narendra Modi urged the voters of Uttar Pradesh to exercise their franchise.  

The PM took to social media and tweeted: "Today is the first phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections. I request all the voters to participate enthusiastically in this holy festival of democracy by following the Covid-19 protocols. Remember - vote first, then refreshments!"

The first phase mostly covers the Jat-dominant belt of western UP. Campaigning for the first phase of the UP Assembly Election 2022 ended on Tuesday (February 8) at 6 pm marking the start of a 48-hour-long silence period. Polling will take place today in 11 districts: Shamli, Hapur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura and Agra.

Around 2.27 crore people are eligible to vote in the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Election, but only those with valid identity proof will be allowed to cast their votes. The voting will be held between 7 am and 6 pm and the counting of votes will take place on March 10.

Nearly 50,000 paramilitary personnel from 412 companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed at different locations in western Uttar Pradesh to maintain law and order with the election campaigning for the first phase ending on Tuesday evening. The police have sealed the borders of the poll-bound state and strict vigilance is underway to maintain peace in 58 assembly constituencies which will go to the polls today.