The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh on Monday recorded a turnout of 53.19 per cent till 5 PM. Polling in the fifth phase was held in 14 constituencies, including the three VVIP seats of Lucknow, Rae Bareli and Amethi.
The other constituencies where elections were held on Monday are Dhaurahra, Sitapur, Mohanlalganj (reserved), Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi (reserved), Barabanki (reserved), Faizabad, Bahraich (reserved), Kaiserganj, and Gonda.
The highest turnout till 5 PM was recorded in Dhaurahra, 59.48 per cent followed by the neighbouring constituency of Sitapur with a poll percentage of 59.10. The turnout in Lucknow was 50.27 per cent, Rae Bareli 50.38 per cent and Amethi 48.57 per cent. Mohanlalganj (reserved) constituency, neighbouring Lucknow, recorded a voter turnout of 57.78 per cent. In Barabanki (reserved), which is also in the neighbourhood of Lucknow, the polling percentage was 57.63 per cent.
Elections in the fifth phase in Uttar Pradesh were held in what is known as the Avadh region of the state. The BJP and the Congress have held sway as past poll results in these seats have shown.
Earlier, a polling percentage of 45.07 was recorded till 3 PM with Sitapur recording a turnout of 50.32 per cent followed by 49.64 per cent in Barabanki (reserved) and Dhaurahra which recorded a turnout of 49.23 per cent.
The voter turnout was 43.07 per cent, 42.68 per cent and 41.92 per cent respectively in Lucknow, Rae Bareli and Amethi till 3 PM which was surprisingly low as compared to the poll percentage in other seats. Only Kaushambi (reserved), with a vote percentage of 40.37 per cent, was lower than that of the three VVIP constituencies. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who is seeking a second term from Lucknow, is pitted against Poonam Sinha of Samajwadi Party-BSP-RLD alliance and Acharya Pramod Krishnam of Congress.
In Amethi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Smriti Irani of the Bharatiya Janata Party are locked in a keen contest. The SP-BSP-RLD alliance has not fielded its candidate in Amethi, thus ensuring a straight fight between Rahul and Irani. Rahul Gandhi is seeking a fourth successive win from Amethi which is considered to be a Congress stronghold. Smriti Irani had lost to Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha 2014 polls.
Rahul also contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Wayanad in Kerala where polling was held in the third phase on April 23.
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is seeking a fifth straight win from the Congress and Gandhi family citadel of Rae Bareli where Congress turncoat Dinesh Pratap Singh was fielded by the BJP.
Meanwhile, to ensure peaceful polling in the Kaushambi Lok Sabha seat, the Pratapgarh district administration reportedly curbed the movements of former minister and Jansatta Dal president RaghurajPratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiyya and eight others, including MLA from Babaganj Vinod Saroj. They were only allowed to cast their votes, reports said. Pratapgarh comes in the Kaushambi constituency.