Phase 7 of Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh: 55.60% voter turnout in 2024 vs 58.37% in 2019
Chandauli Lok Sabha constituency’s turnout of 60.34% highest in final lap, Maharajganj also breaches 60% mark, Salempur figure of 51.25% lowest in seventh phase in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh recorded 55.60% voter turnout in the seventh and final phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha election in 13 constituencies of the Purvanchal region on Saturday, a decline of around 3% polling in comparison to the 2019 figure of 58.37% for the same seats.
The turnout in the sixth phase held on May 25 was 54.03%, the lowest among all the phases.
The key Lok Sabha constituencies, including Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Chandauli and Mirzapur, where the NDA and INDIA bloc had mobilised their cadres for a high-voltage campaign, recorded a decline in voter turnout in comparison to the 2019 mark.
The 2024 voter turnout in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi was 56.35% against 57.09% in 2019.
Gorakhpur, the home turf of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, too, witnessed a decline in the voter turnout from 59.75% in 2019 to 54.69% in 2024. Actor Ravi Kishan is in fray in Gorakhpur on the BJP ticket. The SP has fielded actress Kajal Nishad against him.
The 2024 voter turnout in Chandauli, where Union minister Mahendra Nath Pandey is seeking re-election, was 60.34%, the highest in this phase but lower than 61.73% recorded in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Maharajganj, where six-term MP and Union minister Pankaj Chaudhary is vying for a seventh term, recorded 60.08% turnout, which was short of the 2019 polling figure of 64.07%.
Mirzapur, where Apna Dal (Sonelal) chief and Union minister Anupriya Patel is seeking a third term, recorded 57.72% voter turnout in 2024, an about 3% decline from the 60.12 % polling witnessed in 2019.
The Ghazipur Lok Sabha constituency that was in the limelight after the Samajwadi Party fielded Afzal Ansari, brother of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, recorded a fall in the voter turnout from 58.89% in 2019 to 55.21% in 2024.
Bansgaon, where the Congress fielded former BSP minister Sadal Prasad against three-term BJP MP Kamlesh Paswan, recorded 51.59% turnout this time against 55.26% in 2019.
The lowest voter turnout of 51.25% in the seventh phase among the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies was recorded in Salempur. In 2019, this constituency logged 55.17% polling.
Kushinagar Lok Sabha constituency witnessed 57.29% turnout, which was short of the 2019 polling percentage of 59.61.
Ghosi, where SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar’s son Arvind Rajbhar was in the fray, recorded 54.87% voter turnout now against 57.28% in 2019.
Ballia recorded 51.84% voter turnout in 2024 against 54.21 % in 2019.
Deoria, known as the land of the sages and socialists, too , failed to achieve the 2019 mark of 57.62% as 55.30% voters exercised their franchise this time.
Dominated by tribals and Dalits, the Robertsganj Lok Sabha constituency that shares its borders with Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, recorded 55.92% polling, which was short of the 2019 mark of 57.35%.
The Purvanchal region includes 27 Lok Sabha constituencies. Polling in 14 constituencies was held in the sixth phase. The remaining 13 seats went to polls in the seventh and last lap. This region is known for low voter turnout in comparison to constituencies in West and Central Uttar Pradesh.
The sixth phase turnout of 54.03% was the lowest among all phases in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 election. There was some consolation as the seventh phase turnout of 55.60% was better than the sixth phase figure but still less than the 2019 mark.
In the first phase in 2024, 61.11% voter turnout was recorded. In the second phase it was 55.19%, 57.34% in the third phase, 58.22% in the fourth phase and 58.02% in the fifth phase.
In 2019, 66.50% voter turnout was recorded in the first phase, 62.09% in the second phase, 59.92% in the third, 58.75% in the fourth, 58.45% in the fifth phase, 54.49% in he sixth phase and 58.37% turnout was recorded in the seventh phase.
Polling started on a slow note on Saturday morning, but gradually picked up as the day progressed. The weather was pleasant due to a cloudy sky.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who voted in Gorakhpur, expressed pleasure over the dip in morning temperature and urged the voters to exercise their franchise in strength.
At 9am, 12.94% votes were polled, rising to 28.02% at 11am, 39.31% at 1pm, 46.83% % at 3pm and 54 % at 5 pm, according to Election Commission of India data.
In Duddhi (ST) assembly constituency in Sonbhadra district, 55.79% voter turnout was witnessed for a bypoll.
Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer Navdeep Rinwa said the seventh phase polling concluded peacefully and there was no report of untoward incident from anywhere.