UP Elections 2022 Voting Highlights: First phase polling ends, nearly 59% voter turnout recorded till 6pm

We'll give Goans land rights within 6 months of forming govt. We'll repair all the roads in the state. We'll give free treatment, education, electricity, water & due to these facilities every household will get benefit of Rs 2 lakh per year: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in Poriem, Goa

Launching an attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said if Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru wanted, Goa could have been liberated "within hours" in 1947 when India attained independence, but it took 15 years for the state to be freed from Portuguese rule.

Addressing an election rally in Mapusa near here ahead of the February 14 assembly polls, Modi said the Congress has been treating Goa as its "enemy" and same treatment continues even now which can be seen through the constant political instability imposed upon the state by the party.

Uttar Pradesh records 57.79% voter turnout till 5 pm in the first phase of Assembly elections

Raju Kohli, a youth dressed as CM Yogi Adityanath arrived at a polling booth in Sector 11 of Noida to cast his vote.

Keep Uttar Pradesh riot-free, keep our sisters free from fear & send criminals to jail: PM Modi in address to Saharanpur rally.

News agency ANI reported that Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary will not cast his vote today because of his election rally. Chaudhary is a voter of the Mathura region.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged people eligible to vote in the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls to participate in the exercise enthusiastically.  Remember that "pahle matdan, phir jalpan" (First vote, then have breakfast), he tweeted.  He urged voters to participate in this festival of democracy while adhering to COVID-19 norms. 

Agra recorded 7.53 per cent polling, Aligarh 8.26 per cent, Baghpat 8.93 per cent, Bulandshahr 7.51 per cent, Gautam Buddh Nagar 8.33 per cent, Ghaziabad 7.37 per cent, Hapur 8.2 per cent, Mathura 8.30 per cent, Meerut 8.44 per cent Muzaffarnagar 7.5 per cent and Shamli 7.7 per cent

8% voter turn out has been recorded till 9:30 am in the first phase of UP polls. Voting is on in 50 seats in Western UP in the first phase

Zikra, a first time voter, casts her vote in the first phase of Uttar Pradesh Elections , along with her family at a polling booth in Kairana. She says, "It is important to exercise your voting right. I feel good after casting my vote."

The voting districts, located in west UP, are Shamli, Hapur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura, and Agra.

Watch: Phase 1 voting begins; mood of Jats, farmers in focus

The first phase of the 7-phase Uttar Pradesh assembly elections will commence on February 10. 58 constituencies of the 11 districts in the western region of the state will cast their ballot.

Once a stronghold of BSP, 53 of the 58 seats in the region voted for BJP in the last 2017 assembly elections. Counting of votes will be done on March 10.

UP Election 2022 Phase 1 Key highlights:

• Region once a stronghold of BSP
• 2013 riots swayed Jat vote in favour of BJP
• Farmer anger ripe in the region
• RLD seeking to sway Jat vote
• 26% - highest Muslim population in state
• New entrant to look out for - AIMIM

UP Assembly Election Phase 1 Seats to look out for:

• Noida
• Muzaffarnagar
• Mathura
• Kairana
• Baghpat
• Atrauli

The battle for Uttar Pradesh began on Thursday with polling at 58 assembly seats spread across 11 districts in the western part of the state. Polling started at 7.00 AM and will continue till 6.00 PM.

Campaigning in the constituencies going to vote in the first round of the seven-phase election in the politically crucial state ended on Tuesday evening.  As many as 623 candidates, including 73 women are in the fray in the first phase and around 2.28 core voters, including 1.24 crore men and 1.04 crore women are eligible to caste their francise. 

The canvassing for the first phase remained confined to the virtual medium due to a ban on road shows and physical rallies in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The first phase of the 7-phase Uttar Pradesh assembly elections will commence on February 10. 58 constituencies of the 11 districts in the western region of the state will cast their ballot.

Gonda district magistrate was removed on the directions of the Election Commission, days after the Samajwadi Party accused him of helping a BJP candidate. The Samajwadi Party in a complaint to the poll panel had alleged that DM Markandey Shahi has been working on the directions of BJP's Kaiserganj MP Brijbhushan Sharan Singh and the Gonda Sadar MLA.