Polling for the first phase of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh ended at 6 pm on Thursday, with the state recording a voting turnout of 60.51 per cent.
Even as the overall voting process remained peaceful, there were reports of a technical error in EVMs at a few places.
As many as 623 candidates were in the fray and around 2.27 crore people were eligible to vote in this phase in which a total of 58 constituencies spread across 11 districts in the western belt of the state went to polls.
2022 Uttar Pradesh (UP) Assembly Election Phase 1 Voting
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing an election rally in UP’s Saharanpur, said the Yogi Adityanath government has consistently worked towards preventing crimes against Muslim women, while the Opposition has stood in the way of their progress for the sake of votes.
A bulk of the UP seats, which went to polls today, are Jat dominated who had participated actively in the stir against the Centre’s three contentious agriculture laws in the national capital last year.
The fiercely contested first round, where the ruling BJP is expected to face a stiff challenge from the resurgent alliance of Samajwadi Party (SP) and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), will test the impact of the farmers stir.
In other news, the Election Commission revised the dates of assembly polls in Manipur. The state will now go to first phase of elections on February 28 and second phase on March 5.
The canvassing for the first phase was limited to the virtual medium due to a ban on road shows and physical rallies in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP campaign, pitching for a double-engine government for fast-paced development, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath tried to put the spotlight back on alleged “exodus” of Hindus from Kairana before 2017.
The SP-RLD alliance, on the other hand, has centred their electioneering on farmers’ issues and has attacked Adityanath over poll promises.
BSP chief Mayawati, who started campaigning late, reminded people of her government’s track record on law and order in the past. The Congress under the leadership of its general secretary Priyanka Gandhi has generated interest as seen in door-to-door campaigns.
A 12 lakh vote bank: Why parties are talking of old pension, new pension
A scheme that keeps coming up in the Uttar Pradesh election discourse, and has found mention in the manifestos of both the Samajwadi Party and Congress, is the pension for government employees.
Akhilesh Yadav announced last month that if the SP formed the government, it would restore a pre-2005 “old pension scheme” (the SP was in power at the time, led by Mulayam Singh Yadav). Six days later, UP Chief Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra held a review with officials and issued a statement specifying how the “new pension scheme” was more beneficial.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath then attacked Akhilesh, saying the “new pension scheme” had actually got clearance in 2005 under Mulayam, and remained in cold storage.
On Wednesday, the Congress got into the game, with its manifesto promising a “mid-way” solution.
Whichever scheme is finally enforced, the beneficiaries would be those retiring around 2030-35, since it would apply to those hired after 2004.
However, in the short term, all parties have eyes on the 12 lakh government employees and their families.
