UP Election 2022: Additional Chief Electoral Officer (ACEO) BD Ram Tiwari said, "There were reports of technical faults in EVMs at some places. After which those EVMs were replaced.
In the first phase of polling held on Thursday in 58 assembly constituencies of 11 districts of Uttar Pradesh, more than 60 percent voter turnout was recorded. Voting closed at 6 pm after an extension of one hour due to COVID-19 protocols. Election officials said the day passed peacefully with minor technical glitches in the EVMs at some places. Additional Chief Electoral Officer (ACEO) BD Ram Tiwari said, "There were reports of technical glitches in EVMs at some places. After which those EVMs were replaced. On the allegation of Samajwadi Party that poor people in Tendukheda village of Kairana assembly constituency Voters were not allowed to exercise their franchise, the official said, adding that the district magistrate concerned was asked to look into the matter.
The Election Commission report said that 60.33 percent in Agra, 60.49 percent in Aligarh, 61.35 percent in Baghpat, 60.52 percent in Bulandshahr, 56.73 percent in Gautam Buddh Nagar, 54.77 percent in Ghaziabad, 60.50 percent in Hapur, 63.28 percent in Mathura. Voter turnout was 60.91 percent in Meerut, 65.34 percent in Muzaffarnagar and 69.42 percent in Shamli. According to the report, 63.47 percent voting was recorded in these constituencies during the 2017 assembly elections.
A report from Ghaziabad said that a minor clash reportedly took place between supporters of BJP leader VK Singh and Congress leader Rajan Kant. This happened when VK Singh addressed the media persons and talked about the work done by the BJP and the security arrangements in the premises of a polling booth. After which the policemen had to intervene in this.
A groom arrives to cast his vote at Char Khamba polling station in Sadar assembly constituency in Bulandshahr before joining his procession. After completing the Ghudchadi ceremony, the groom Balram reached the polling booth to cast his vote on a motorcycle.
A youth was thrashed by BJP MLA Umesh Malik in Muzaffarnagar and later handed over to the police on charges of alleged bogus voting at a polling booth in Shahpur in Budhana assembly constituency. A purported video of the incident was widely shared on social media.
According to a report in Mathura, polling was slow due to dense fog in the morning, but picked up pace as visibility improved during the day. Though RLD chief Jayant Choudhary could not reach the polling booth on time to cast his vote, As he was campaigning, his wife Charu Choudhary exercised her franchise in Mathura. Mathura District Election Officer Navneet Singh Chahal said, "No untoward incident took place during the elections and the norms of COVID-19 were strictly followed."
There was a heated argument between SP-RLD candidate Sanjay Latthar and Math police station in-charge Inspector Rakesh Kumar Singh. "We will complain to the Election Commission and the SSP of Mathura that the RLD-SP alliance workers have been beaten up by the police," Latthar said.