9.28% polling in Uttar Pradesh in two hours till 9 p.m

Lucknow, May 12 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh on Sunday recorded around 9.28 per cent polling in the first two hours for 14 of the state's 80 constituencies in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. There was a steady stream of people to polling booths as polling began at 7 a.m. Till 9 a.m., Sultanpur recorded 9.37 per cent voter turnout, Pratapgarh 10.68, Phulpur 9, Allahabad 8.20, Ambedkar Nagar 10.20, Shravasti 9.20, Dumariyaganj 7.60, Basti 11.40, Sant Kabir Nagar 8.75, Lalganj 10.30, Azamgarh 10.10, Jaunpur 9.07, Machhlishahr 7.70 and Bhadohi 8.40 per cent. Voting was delayed in some booths in Jaunpur and Machhlishahr due to technical glitches in EVMs. Umashankar Singh voted at polling booth no. 282 in Machhlishahr constituency after performing the last rites of his elder brother at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi. Chief Electoral Officer L. Venkateshwarlu said that a total of 2.57 crore voters are eligible to decide the fate of 177 candidates in this phase. Of the polling stations, 4,995 have been categorised as "sensitive", an official euphemism to mean they are prone to violence. Paramilitary troopers were deployed in these booths. Prominent candidates include former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who is contesting from Azamgarh, Bharatiya Janata Party's Rita Bahuguna (Allahabad) and Union Minister Maneka Gandhi (Sultanpur).
--IANS hindi-pg/mr