57 percent voter turnout in third phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls

Lucknow, Feb 15 (ANI): Around 57 per cent voter turn out was registered on Wednesday, in the third phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls held for 56 seats spread in ten districts of the state.

The incident-free third phase of the seven-part elections in the state will decide the fate of three cabinet ministers, a minister of state, 29 sitting MLAs and 14 former ministers.

The polling, which began on a sluggish note at 18,374 booths spread over 10 districts, picked up as the day progressed with state election officials putting overall turn out at around 57 per cent.

Today's polling would decide the fate of cabinet ministers Indrajit Saroj - Manjhanpur, Nand Gopal Gupta alias Nandi - Allahabad South and Dharmaraj Nishad - Shahganj and minister of state Vinod Singh - Lambhua, besides 29 MLAs and 14 former ministers.

Other prominent candidates include, six time MLA from Varanasi south Shyam Dev Rai Chaudhary - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), five time MLA from Malhani and two time MP Parasnath Yadav - Samajwadi Party (SP) and former bureaucrat Rajendra Pandey from Manjhwa seat in Mirzapur district

The Uttar Pradesh polls are being viewed as an opportunity for major parties to re-establish their foothold in the country's fifth largest and most populous state. new 403-member state assembly will be elected in March. The poll results will broadly indicate trends for the 2014 general elections. (ANI)