UP Assembly Election 2012: fifth phase of polling begins with slow note

The fifth phase of polling for Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2012 has begun today morning amid tight security. Till 2 hours voting, slow polling exercises were recorded in all 13 districts covering partial Awadh and part of Bundelkhand region.

This phase of election would decide the phase of Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly and Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Singh Yadav, firebrand BJP leader Uma Bharati and former UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh.

The polling began at 7 a.m. at 17,267 polling booths set up at 11,745 centres, election commission official informed to media.

The voting exercise is going on for 49 seats spread over 13 districts - Firozabad, Kanshiram Nagar, Etah, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auraiya, Ramabainagar, Kanpur, Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Hamirpur and Mahoba - amid tight security, he added.

As much as 1.56-crore electorate would decide the fate of 829 candidates today.

The polling would conclude at 5 p.m..

Election Commission have identified 2,104 polling stations as sensitive, and 2,256 as hypersensitive.

To conduct the polling smoothly, 981 video cameras and 2,100 digital cameras have been installed, EC informed.

The heavyweights who are fraying in this phase are: SP leader Shivpal Singh Yadav from Jaswantnagar seat in Etawah district, BJP leader Uma Bharati, from Charkhari seat in Mahoba district, former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh from Etah, former minister and state president of BJP's women wing Premlata Katiyar from Kalyanpur seat in Kanpur, daughter of BSP state president and cabinet minister Swami Prasad Maurya, Sanghmitra Gautam from Aliganj seat in Etah district, Shikha Mishra from Maharajpur seat in Kanpur district, and a relative of SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, Urmila Yadav from Karhal seat in Mainpuri but as a Congress nominee.

In the last phase of election, only 47.57% polling were recorded. However, it is expected that today the polling percentage can go higher.

In last assembly elections in 2007 there were 53 seats in fifth phase of which BSP won 27, SP 14, BJP 6, Congress 4 and others 2. This time polling would be held in two new districts Kanshiram Nagar and Ramabai Nagar.