UP polls: Voting generally peaceful, turnout 56 per cent

Lucknow, Feb 11: Nearly 56 per cent of 1.92 crore voters on Saturday exercised their franchise for 59 seats spread over nine districts in the by-and-large peaceful second phase of the fiercely-fought Uttar Pradesh assembly election.

The fate of 1,098 candidates, including two state party chiefs, 31 MLAs and 24 former ministers was sealed in the Electronic Voting Machines in today's exercise. Polling for the second round, in which 59 assembly seats were up for grabs, was generally peaceful in Sant Kabir Nagar, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Azamgarh, Mau, Ballia and Ghazipur districts.

Ruling BSP, Congress, SP and BJP pulled out all the stops to woo voters in the no-holds-barred fight for the 403-seat House. State Election Commission sources said an estimated 56 per cent electorate cast votes in nine districts in the second leg of the seven-phased election.

PTI