About 50 to 55 per cent of voters cast their ballots in the first phase of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, which witnessed stray violence in two districts on Thursday.
A Samajwadi Party worker was killed in Kairana constituency of Muzaffarnagar district. However, a home department spokesman said it had nothing to do with the elections as it was an outcome of personal enmity.
He said barring two minor incidents in Bareilly and Shahjahanpur districts where two people received gun shot injuries, polling for the 92 constituencies in the first phase of the elections was peaceful.
In Bareilly, one person received injuries when the gunner of the BJP candidate from Sunha seat opened fire on the brickbatting crowd, he said. A person was injured in a clash between rival groups in Nigohi constituency in Shahjahanpur.
Polling began on a dull note due to severe chill in the morning, but picked up in the afternoon with long queues in front of polling booths.
Polling was delayed for some time in the morning as officials struggled to install the electronic voting machines being used all over the state for the first time.
The electoral fortunes of 1242 candidates, including two former chief ministers Kalyan Singh and Mayawati from Dibai and Harora seats, and senior state minister Hukum Singh from Kairana and former minister and SP leader Azam Khan from Rampur, were sealed on Thursday.
The second phase of polling is scheduled for February 18 and third and final phase on February 21.
Bureau Report
