UP Election 2017: Voting ends in 53 constituencies (Phase 4).
Uttar Pradesh assembly elections drive into the fourth phase today. Fifty three Assembly constituencies including in Raebareli, the parliamentary constituency of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, will votes today. The ruling Samajwadi Party has teamed up with Congress to make it a three -cornered contest against the BJP and four-time Chief Minister Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP. 680 candidates representing various political parties will try their luck in the elections. Of these, 116 candidates candidates have criminal cases filed against them. Prominent candidates in this phase include sitting MLA Aradhana Mishra from Rampur Khas (Pratapgarh), the daugther of senior Congress leader and MP from Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari. BJP National Secretary Siddharth Nath Singh is contesting from Allahabad West. The elections in UP are seen as the first major referendum for PM Modi's notes ban in November last year. Voting in Uttar Pradesh is being held in seven phases. The results will be announced on March 11.
Please Note: For live updates, kindly refresh the page manually by pressing 'F5' on your keyboard (if you're reading this on a computer) or exit the story and click on the headline again (if you're reading this on your mobile or tablet)Here are the voting day highlights for Phase 4 of Uttar Pradesh Election 2017:
February 23, 2017 - 15:30 pm: UP Election Live - 50.3% voter turnout recorded in Uttar Pradesh (Phase 4) till 3 pm, according to the Election Commission of India.
UP Election 2017 LIVE: 50.3% voter turnout recorded in phase 4 till 3 PM
- Voters in Allahabad pose for a photograph after casting their vote at a polling station during the fourth phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh:
UP Election 2017 LIVE: voters pose for a photograph after casting their vote in Allahabad
- First time voters in Allahabad take a selfie after casting their vote for the 4th phase of assembly election in Uttar Pradesh today:
UP Election 2017 LIVE: First time voters click a selfie after casting thier vote in Allahabad
- 38.1% voter turnout recorded in Uttar Pradesh (Phase 4) till 1 pm, according to the Election Commission of India.
UP Election 2017 LIVE: 38.1% voter turnout recorded in phase 4 till 1 PM
- Nearly 40 per cent of 1.84 crore voters exercised their franchise till 1 pm today in the fourth phase of polling in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
February 23, 2017 - 13:00 pm: UP Election Live - Some interesting facts about phase 4 of the assembly election in Uttar Pradesh:
UP Election 2017 LIVE: Number of seats being contested by various parties in phase 4
UP Election 2017 LIVE: Facts about candidates, constituencies, and polling stations in phase 4
UP Election 2017 LIVE: Gender based voter details for phase 4
- Here is a list of rich candidates standing for phase 4 of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election 2017. Rich candidates are candidates whose assets are 1 Cr and above:
UP Election 2017 LIVE: List of rich candidates (assets above 1 crore) contesting in phase 4
- Here is a list of some of the key candidates and heavyweights standing for phase 4 of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election 2017:
UP Election 2017 LIVE: List of key candidates and heavyweights contesting in phase 4
Here is a party-wise list of the number candidates with criminal cases standing for elections in phase 4 of the UP assembly election:
UP Election 2017 LIVE: Party-wise list of candidates with criminal cases
The BJP's efforts to revive itself in the state with the help of careful caste calculations and aggressive poaching of "winnable" faces play out in the district. The party has left two seats here for its ally Apna Dal which enjoys influence among the Kurmis, the most prominent non-Yadav OBC group in the state. Besides, in at least three of the seats in Allahabad, the BJP has fielded candidate turncoats from other parties. The BSP, which has aimed at winning over the Muslims in a big way in the ongoing assembly polls, is contesting all 12 seats in Allahabad district. Three of its candidates in Allahabad are Muslims.
February 23, 2017 - 12:00 Noon: UP Election Live - Update from Allahabad:Residents of a village in remote Shankargarh block of the trans-Yamuna region were persuaded to call off boycott of voting with the assurance that their grievances will be duly addressed. Attempts of the state's ruling Samajwadi Party to stave off anti-incumbency with the help of an image make-over and a last-minute alliance with the Congress faces a litmus test in the district where it has dropped four sitting MLAs and given up one of the seats held by it in favour of the ally.
February 23, 2017 - 11:45 am: UP Election Live - Update from Allahabad:No untoward incident was reported from any of the 4327 polling booths across the district so far. About 30,000 security personnel have been deployed at polling centres to deal with any law and order situation. At some places EVMs reported technical snags which were promptly taken care of. The fate of close to 200 candidates will be decided by more than four million voters. Allahabad saw brisk voting in all 12 assembly seats in the district with 21.22 per cent voters having exercised their franchise till 11 am.
February 23, 2017 - 11:30 am: UP Election Live - 24.6% voter turnout recorded in Uttar Pradesh (Phase 4) till 11 am, according to the Election Commission of India.
UP Election 2017 LIVE: 24.6% voter turnout recorded in phase 4 till 11 AM
BSP has fielded its nominees in all seats, while BJP's nominees are in 48 constituencies. BJP has left 6 seats for its ally Apna Dal. SP nominees are in contest in 30 segments and its ally Congress is in contest from 25 constituencies. In 2012 polls, out of the 53 seats in this phase, Samajwadi Party had won 24, BJP 5, Bahujan Samaj Party 15, Congress 6 and others had got 3. Elections for UP legislative assembly are being held in seven phases, with three more on February 27, March 4 and 8 to follow after today's polling. Results will be out on March 11.
February 23, 2017 - 11:00 am: UP Election Live - Other districts where polling is going on in this phase amid tight security are Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Allahabad, Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Mahoba, Banda, Hamirpur, Chitrakoot and Fatehpur. The maximum number of candidates (26) are in Allahabad North, while only six candidates are in fray in Khaga (Fatehpur), Manjhanpur (Kaushambi) and Kunda (Pratapgarh).
February 23, 2017 - 10:45 am: UP Election Live - In Raebareli, Aditi Singh is contesting on a Congress ticket, BSP turncoat Swami Prasad Maurya's son Utkarsh Maurya is in fray from Unchahar seat, while Leader of Opposition Gaya Charan Dinkar is contesting from Naraini (Banda) seat. Senior SP leader Reoti Raman Singh's son Ujjwal Raman Singh is in the race from Karchana (Allahabad) seat. Assembly segments in Congress President Sonia Gandhi's Raebareli Lok Sabha constituency are among the seats where the electoral exercise is taking place. In a first since 1998, Mrs Gandhi gave campaigning a miss in her constituency.
February 23, 2017 - 10:30 am: UP Election Live - Inter district and inter state borders have been sealed and patrolling by security forces has been intensified in poll-bound areas. Most of the sensitive polling centres are being manned by the personnel of Central Paramilitary Forces. 680 candidates are in the fray in this phase, prominent among them being sitting MLA from Rampur Khas (Pratapgarh) Aradhana Mishra who is the daughter of Congress MP Pramod Tiwari, and Independent MLA and minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, who is again contesting from his traditional Kunda (Pratapgarh) seat.
February 23, 2017 - 10:15 am: UP Election Live - Voting has picked up pace in 53 Assembly constituencies spread over 12 districts, including the backward Bundelkhand region. The pace of voting was initially slow but picked up gradually as the day advanced, the office of UP Chief Electoral Officer said.
February 23, 2017 - 09:45 am: UP Election Live - 10.2% voter turnout recorded in Uttar Pradesh (Phase 4) till 9 am, according to the Election Commission of India.
UP Election 2017 LIVE: 10.2% voter turnout recorded in phase 4 till 9 AM
The fate of 680 candidates will be decided by nearly two crore voters including 84 lakh women. The assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh are being conducted in seven phases. The votes will be counted on March 11.
February 23, 2017 - 09:30 am: UP Election Live - During the campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeatedly targeted the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance and the BSP, accusing them of corruption. "SCAM stands for SP, Congress, Mr Akhilesh and Ms Mayawati," the Prime Minister told the voters in Bundelkhand. PM Modi had described Mayawati's BSP as the "Behenji Sampatti Party". Ms Mayawati retaliated by saying that the initials of the Prime Minister's name stand for "Mr Negative Dalit Man". In a sharp drop in the quality of political statements, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav referred to a Gujarat tourism ad featuring Amitabh Bachchan and said, "I urge the century's biggest star not to campaign for Gujarat's gadhas (donkeys)".
February 23, 2017 - 09:20 am: UP Election Live - The most number of candidates are in Allahabad. BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh -- who is the grandson of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri - is contesting his first polls from Allahabad West.
February 23, 2017 - 09:15 am: UP Election Live - Sonia Gandhi, who has not campaigned even once in Raebareli, appealed to voters in an open letter last evening, in which she accused the Modi government of "deliberately" depriving people of the centre's welfare schemes. Of the 53 seats in this phase, the Samajwadi Party had won 24, the BJP 5, Mayawati's BSP 15, the Congress 6 and others 3 in the assembly elections of 2012. Prominent candidates include Congress lawmaker Aradhana Mishra, the daughter of parliamentarian Pramod Tiwari, and independent legislator and minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiya.
February 23, 2017 - 09:00 am: UP Election Live - Late last night, the son of a Samajwadi Party candidate was injured in firing between rival groups in Mahoba town. The family has accused supporters of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate. Four people have been injured.
February 23, 2017 - 08:45 am: UP Election Live - Campaigning ahead of this round saw acrimonious speeches as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, his alliance partner Rahul Gandhi and BSP chief Mayawati addressed people in villages and small towns.
February 23, 2017 - 08:30 am: UP Election Live - Five seats in Congress President Sonia Gandhi's parliamentary constituency Raebareli are among the 53 voting today. The parched Bundelkhand zone and Allahabad, the historic city at the centre of India's independence movement are also a part of this phase.
February 23, 2017 - 08:15 am: UP Election Live - A Samajwadi Party candidate's son was shot at in clashes with rival BSP workers in Uttar Pradesh's Mahoba hours before parts of the state began voting in the fourth round of seven-phase elections.
February 23, 2017 - 08:00 am: UP Election Live - Four injured as Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) workers clash in Mahoba constituency.
February 23, 2017 - 07:00 am: UP Election Live - People wait in a queue as voting begins for Phase 4 of the Uttar Pradesh election.
February 23, 2017 - 06:30 am: UP Election Live - BJP National Secretary Siddharth Nath Singh is contesting from Allahabad West.
February 23, 2017 - 06:00 am: UP Election Live - 680 candidates representing various political parties will try their luck in the elections. Of these, 116 candidates candidates have criminal cases filed against them.
February 23, 2017 - 05:45 am: UP Election Live - 62 per cent voting was recorded in phase-3
February 23, 2017 - 05:30 am: UP Election Live - Prominent among those contesting in this phase are Aradhana Mishra, the daughter of senior Congress leader Pramod Tiwari from Rampur Khas; five-time legislator and former minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh from Kunda.
February 23, 2017 - 05:15 am: UP Election Live - Of the 53 seats in this phase, the Samajwadi Party had won 24, the BJP 5, Mayawati's BSP 15, the Congress 6 and others 3 in the assembly elections of 2012.
February 23, 2017 - 05:00 am: UP Election Live - Voting will begin at 7 am. The districts going to polls in the fourth phase include Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Allahabad, Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Mahoba, Banda, Hamirpur, Chitrakoot and Fatehpur.