This story is from February 11, 2022

60% voter turnout in 1st phase of UP election

60% voter turnout in 1st phase of UP election
MEERUT: There was heavy fog and bad weather conditions as UP saw a turnout of 60.1% across 58 constituencies in 11 districts of its western flank in the first phase of polling on Thursday. This was lower than the turnout during the 2017 elections at 63.5%. But final figures are yet to come, with many DMs in the region that voted saying it may go up.The voting process was peaceful, barring a few minor incidents.
Shamli, a political hotbed due to the Kairana "exodus", saw maximum voting at 69.4% till 6pm. It was followed by Muzaffarnagar at 65.3%, Baghpat 61.3%, Ghaziabad 54.7%, Gautam Budh Nagar 56.7%.
Bulandshahr 60.5%, Meerut 60.9%, Hapur 60.5%, Aligarh, Mathura, and Agra witnessed 60.4%, 63.2%, and 60.3% voting till 6pm, respectively. Long lines of people were seen outside polling booths. Braving heavy fog and chilly weather, voters were seen patiently waiting for their turn amid strict Covid protocols.

Union minister SP Singh Baghel, two cabinet ministers - Shrikant Sharma and Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary - and state education minister Sandeep Singh, grandson of former CM Kalyan Singh, were seen voting. State minister for education Sandeep Singh, also a nominee from Atrauli, cast his vote in Aligarh.
The Kairana constituency, where there was a fight between jailed SP candidate Nahid Hasan and BJP's Mriganka Singh, witnessed maximum voting at 75.1%. In Thanabhawan and Shamli city, voting remained at 65.6% and 67.5%, respectively. Out of Muzaffarnagar's six assembly seats, Khatauli witnessed maximum polling at 69.7%.

In Baghpat, Ajit Singh's bastion Chaprauli witnessed a 57.1% turnout, while Baghpat city witnessed 64.6%. In Baraut it was 62.3% and in Mathura's Govardhan and Chhata 66.7% and 64.5%, respectively. Aligarh's Atrauli, the town of BJP's Kalyan Singh, witnessed the lowest turnout at 57.2%.
Meanwhile, several complaints of slow polling and faulty EVMs kept officials in western UP on their toes. In sensitive Kairana seat, SP candidate Nahid Hasan complained of "slow polling due to inefficient polling staff". In a series of other posts, Hasan claimed that some EVMs were "malfunctioning.
(With inputs from Anuja Jaiswal)
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