New Delhi:
Voting is underway in the final phase of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday while in Manipur, the polling ended at 3pm. In this phase, polling is held to elect 40 members of Uttar Pradesh Assembly and 22 seats of Manipur state assembly. The counting will take place on March 11.
The highlight of the acrimonious campaign for the March 8 polls for 40 seats in eastern Uttar Pradesh was the show of strength by the BJP, the SP-Congress combine and the BSP in PM Narendra Modi’s Varanasi constituency where he camped for three days.
Manipur will see polling in 22 seats across five districts in its second and final phase, where the fate of almost all the big names in the north east state’s politics—including Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, Deputy CM Gaikhangam and human rights activist-turned-politician Irom Chanu Sharmila— will be decided.
Full Coverage: Voting for Phase 7 begins in Uttar Pradesh
Full Coverage: Voting for Phase 2 begins in Manipur
LIVE COVERAGE
#04:50 PM
Around 56 per cent voting till 4 PM in the last phase of #UPpolls.
#3pm
Polling ends in Manipur for final phase of assembly elections- ANI
#2:34pm
Voter turnout of 78% recorded in Manipur till 2pm - ANI
#2.30pm
Over 41% voting in UP till 2pm, Manipur records 67% polling till 1pm- PTI
#1.31pm
Around 67% polling recorded till 1pm in Manipur-ANI
#12.36pm
Farmers in UP's Mirzapur boycott voting at polling booth number 283 of Chunar assembly segment alleging lack of irrigation facilities and development- ANI
#11.30am
22.84% voting recorded in Uttar Pradesh till 11am, 45% polling in Manipur-ANI
#11:24am
45% Voter turnout recorded till 11 AM in Manipur - ANI
#10.44am
BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi casts his vote at booth number 76 of Varanasi North-ANI
#10.24am
65-year old woman dies before casting her vote at polling booth number 357 of Mughalsarai assembly constituency-ANI
#10.05am
10.43% voter turnout recorded in UP till 9am, 21% polling in Manipur-ANI
#9.55am
Apna Dal leader and Union minister Anupriya Patel casts her vote in Mirzaupr-ANI
Apna Dal leader & Union Minister Anupriya Patel casts her vote at polling booth no. 335 of Mirzapur, says "we will win all 40 seats". pic.twitter.com/Sfoma30RkZ
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017
#7:58 AM
People cast their vote at polling booth 127 in Mohammadabad, Mukhtar Ansari's brother Sibakatullah contesting from the seat as BSP candidate
#7:40 AM
Final phase polling begins for assembly elections in Manipur covering 22 constituencies, CM Okram Ibobi Singh casts his vote.
#7.30 AM
Polling underway for 40 seats in final phase of UP elections, and remaining 22 constituencies in Manipur assembly
People cast their vote at polling booth 378 in Mohammadabad, Mukhtar Ansari's brother Sibakatullah contesting from the seat as BSP candidate pic.twitter.com/ERo4y4xOhU
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017
#7:00 AM
Polling begins for 40 seats in final phase of UP elections, and remaining 22 constituencies in Manipur assembly
The high-stake campaign in Uttar Pradesh
In Uttar Pradesh, the Prime Minister visited temples, held a roadshow and attended a number of public events in the holy city along with several rallies in the region, in the final push by the BJP to reach out to voters ahead of the seventh and last phase.
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi also matched it with their own campaign blitz in the region. Joined by Akhilesh’s wife Dimple, the two leaders held a roadshow, hours after Modi arrived in the city and paid obeisance at the Kashi Vishwanath and Kal Bhairav temples with much fanfare.
BSP chief Mayawati, who is seeking a fifth term as Chief Minister, also addressed a rally in Rohaniya, around 20 km from Varanasi the same day.
A galaxy of BJP veterans and Union ministers also made a beeline to Varanasi towards the fag end of electioneering, making the poll atmosphere highly charged.
Manipur: It’s incumbent Congress vs BJP vs activist Irom Sharmila
The poll in Manipur this time is billed as a major test for the 15-year-old Congress regime which is facing a stiff challenge from the BJP.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who has not been keeping well, did not campaign in the state. The task of spearheading the Congress campaign was left to party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who addressed a rally in Imphal on February 28.
BJP held rallies by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 25 and by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on February 19 in Imphal.
Sharmila, who fasted for 16 years for repealing the AFSPA from the state, is in the election fray for the first time and is pitted against Ibobi Singh himself in Thoubal constituency.
After the final phase of the polling on March 8, all eyes will be riveted on March 11 when results of elections in all five states, dubbed as a litmus test for the Narendra Modi government, will be declared.
