M A I N   N E W S

9 hurt in UP poll violence
Voting suspended in four booths

Lucknow, February 18
Nine persons, including a polling officer and two candidates, were injured in poll-related violence in the second phase of Assembly elections for 145 seats in central UP while polling had to be suspended in four booths.

An estimated 60 per cent of the 30.5 million electorate exercised their franchise to decide the fate of 1958 candidates. Polling was held in about 42,004 polling stations, 16,385 of which had been identified as “sensitive”.

The polling was described as “by-and-large” peaceful by the State Chief Electoral Officer Noor Mohammad.

Polling had to be cancelled in two booths in Etah district after some miscreants fired 100 rounds and captured the booths.

District Electoral Officer Suresh Chandra said the miscreants captured booth numbers 186 and 187 in the Pinjri Gambhirpur area of the Aliganj constituency. A repoll for the booths has been recommended by him, the officer added.

In another incident in the district, five persons, including a woman, were injured in clashes between supporters of two political parties in various booths in the Aliganj constituency.

In Etawah district, polling was cancelled in two booths following damage to the electronic voting machines (EVMs) by certain miscreants.

Official sources said here that polling had to be suspended in booth number 269 and booth number 270 after the miscreants forcibly entered the polling area and damaged the EVMs. One polling officer was also injured in the incident.

In other incidents, two candidates were beaten up in separate incidents in Kanpur and Etawah districts.

State Principal Secretary (Home) Naresh Dayal said security personnel roughed up a BJP candidate, Anant Mishra, of the Aryanagar constituency in Kanpur city when the latter insulted a police officer.

State Election Commission sources said ballotting picked up after the initial hours and long queues were observed outside polling booths. However, voters in the state capital did not seem very enthusiastic and a relatively low turnout, around 37 per cent, was recorded.

A Bahujan Samaj Party candidate from Etawah (Sadar), Pradeep Dubey, sustained injuries after being manhandled by BJP supporters agitated over the former beating up one of them.

Official sources said two persons, including the nephew of Samajwadi Party district president Dalranjan Singh, were injured during a clash between supporters of the SP and BJP in the Mohamdabad constituency of Farrukhabad district this afternoon.

Mr Singh’s relative, who was shot at, has been hospitalised and the SP has lodged a first information report against BJP supporters in the local police station.

Among other incidents was a clash between supporters of the SP and BJP at Mishrikh, in Sitapur district, despite special security arrangements following two incidents of violence in the past one week, the last during a February 15 election rally by Union Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi.

The clash took place at a polling booth in Pursena village under Ramkot police station.

Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order) A.K. Mitra told UNI that at the Bhogaon constituency in Mainpuri, supporters of Mr Kalyan Singh’s Rashtriya Kranti Party allegedly fired in the air after police cane-charged them while they were trying to snatch the rifles of security personnel manning a polling station.

Senior police officials rushed to Kuwerpur village where the incident occurred.

At Etawah, miscreants hurled bombs outside two polling stations in the Bharthana constituency, leading to panic. Senior officials rushed to the spot with additional security forces. The miscreants, however, escaped. UNI

Exit polls show BJP losing in 2nd phase

New Delhi, February 18
The BJP appears to have suffered a setback in the second round of polling for 145 seats in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly today while the Samajwadi Party has emerged a gainer, according to exit polls conducted by four news channels.

The Bahujan Samaj Party continues with its impressive performance increasing its tally and the Congress has added to the BJP’s woes by making inroads into the upper caste votes.

Regional parties like the Rashtriya Kranti Dal of former state Chief Minister Kalyan Singh have also disturbed the voting pattern in certain constituencies by snatching votes of the BJP and the Samajwadi Party.

The exit polls conducted by the Doordarshan-C-Fore, Aaj Tak-C-Voter, Zee News-CMS and Sahara TV-CINS did not indicate a clear mandate in favour of any of the three major political formations — the BJP and allies, SP and BSP —and hinted at the possibility of another hung Assembly in the state.

While the ruling BJP and allies have been given 46, 41 and 36 seats by Aaj Tak, Sahara and Zee, respectively, Doordarshan has put the tally at 30, a loss of 27 seats as compared to the last Assembly poll. In the 1996 poll, the BJP had garnered 57 seats in the constituencies spread over the central, western, eastern and Bundelkhand regions of state.

The Samajwadi Party’s tally has been put at 65 and 54 by Doordarshan and Zee, respectively. Aaj Tak has given the party 52 seats and the Sahara TV 45 seats.

The BSP has once again emerged as the major player in the state politics with Zee projecting a tally of 39 seats and Aaj Tak, Doordarshan, and Sahara giving it 34, 32 and 27 seats, respectively. UNI