21 per cent polling till 1100 hrs in UP by-elections

Lucknow, Aug 31 (UNI) Twenty one per cent polling was recorded till 1100 hours in the by-election to the three assembly seats of Gunnaur, Suar Tanda and Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh today.

The polling, which started at 0700 hrs, will continue till 1700 hrs.

Additional CEO Mritunjay Narain here said the polling was peaceful expect for some teething problems regarding the functioning of the Electronic Voting Machines(EVMs).

For holding free and fair polls, the Election Commission has deployed 32 companies of central para military forces along with PAC and district police. While 10 companies of CPMF each will be deployed in Suar Tanda and Farrukhabad seats, 12 companies will be engaged in Gunnaur.

Central forces will be deployed in all the 523 polling stations, while a secretary and an under-secretary level officer of the commission will be stationed in each of the three assembly constituencies during the polling and counting process.

The Commission has also deployed additional 100 micro observers on static duties.

Altogether 8.47 lakh voters in the three assembly constituencies will exercise their franchise in 844 polling booths. Counting of votes for all the three seats would be held from 0800 hrs on September 3.

An intense political battle is on for the three by-elections in Uttar Pradesh after Bahujan Samaj Party's landslide win in the assembly polls as the entire Opposition is pitted against the ruling party. All the three seats were vacated following resignation by the opposition Samajwadi Party members.

While in Farrukhabad, BSP minister Anant Kumar Mishra is pitted against Congress candidate Vijay Singh, who won the seat in the March-April polls, former Samajwadi Party member Kazim Ali was contesting on a BSP ticket from Suar Tanda seat.

The Gunnaur seat was vacated by former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, after being elected from Bharthana and Gunnaur seats.

The Farrukhabad seat was vacated by SP's Vijay Singh after he joined the BSP but was later refused a ticket. He then joined refuge in Congress, which nominated him.

On all the three seats, a keen contest is on the cards. In Farrukhabad, the issue of outsiders is prominent, while in Suar Tanda, it is a battle of supremacy between the Nawabs, represented by the BSP candidate, and SP leader Mohammd Azam Khan.

BSP minister Anant Kumar Mishra, who lost the last assembly polls from Kanpur, is being termed ''outsider'' by the other candidates in Farrukhabad. There are 16 candidates in the fray for the seat.

In Yadav-dominated Gunnaur, the SP is trying to encash the popularity of the party chief. Among the 11 contestants, mostly of the Yadav community, is Rashtriya Parivartan Dal (RPD) chief D P Yadav's brother.

UNI