NEW DELHI: The second phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh saw 65.5 per cent voter turnout, while at 68 per cent, Uttarakhand recorded its highest ever polling, the Election Commission said on February 15.
The poll panel said the “very sensitive” second phase in Uttar Pradesh, during which polling was held in 67 assembly constituencies, passed off peacefully and overall mood made it appear like a “festival of democracy”.
The districts where polling were held in UP included Bijnor, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Sambhal, Rampur, Bareilly, Amroha, Pilibhit, Kheri, Shahjahanpur and Badaun.
A total of 2.28 crore voters, including over 1.04 crore women, were eligible to cast their ballots in 14,771 polling centers and 23,693 polling stations in the second phase polling.
The Election Commission said the figure registered till 5pm was likely to go up in both the states, and the voting figures may touch 70 per cent in Uttarakhand.
In Uttarakhand, polling took place amid tight security, with nearly 30,000 personnel being deployed at 10,685 booths, of which 460 were in snowbound areas.
In most of the seats, ruling Congress and the BJP are locked in straight contests. Enforcement agencies seized Rs 16.52 crore in cash, 3.29 lakh liters of liquor worth Rs 9 crore and drugs worth Rs 1.16 crore in Uttar Pradesh while 1.5 lakh weapons were deposited.
In this phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh 82 women candidates were in the fray while the same was 60 in Uttarakhand. The number of third gender candidates were eight and two respectively.
