With leaders across all parties appealing to voters in the seven Assembly constituencies where polling is being held for by-elections on Tuesday, to vote in large numbers, the polling percentage hovered around an average of 18.4 percent at noon.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, state BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati urged voters to exercise their franchise in large numbers.
Meanwhile, Naugawan Sadat in Amroha — the constituency that fell vacant following the death of state minister Chetan Chauhan — recorded a voter turnout of 23 percent at 11.a.m, while Deoria recorded an 18 percent turnout.
Ghatampur and Tundla witnessed a 14 and 17 percent turnout respectively, and Bangarmau was at 20 percent. Makhani ranked lower at 15 percent and Bulandshahr recorded 19 percent voter turnout.
Some villages in Tundla and Bangarmau announced that they were boycotting the by-elections due to lack of development, but local officials convinced them and later the villagers agreed to vote.
Meanwhile, polling officials have ensured that safety protocols are strictly following at polling stations.
