UP polls last phase: Nearly nine pc voter turnout recorded till 9 am

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 7 : A voter turnout of 8.58 per cent was recorded till 9 am in the last phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections on Monday.
As per government data shared by Additional Chief Electoral Officer BD Ram Tiwari of the state, the highest voter turnout of 9.99 per cent was reported in Mau, followed by 8.99 per cent in Jaunpur.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Parliamentary constituency Varanasi reported 8.93 per cent voter turnout.
A voter turnout of 8.84 per cent was reported in Mirzapur, 8.35 per cent in Sonbhadra and 8.08 per cent in Azamgarh.
Districts that remained below 8 per cent include Ghazipur with 7.95 per cent, Chandauli with 7.69 per cent, and Bhadohi with 7.43 per cent.
Addressing media persons, the state's Additional Chief Electoral Officer informed that some issues reported with EVM machines have been resolved.
With polling in Uttar Pradesh underway for the last and seventh phase of Assembly polls on Monday, the direct fight is between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) for dominance in Varanasi and Azamgarh.
With Varanasi being the home constituency of PM Modi, BJP has exceptional influence in the district and was able to secure win all the eight assembly constituencies in the district in the 2017 elections namely Pindra, Ajagara, Shivpur, Rohaniya, Varanasi North, Varanasi South, Varanasi Cantt, and Sevapur.
On the other hand, the Azamgarh district dominated by Yadavs and Muslims has traditionally been an SP stronghold and the party managed to bag 5 of 10 seats in 2017 in the district. Azamgarh was the biggest challenge for BJP in the 2017 election as it won only one seat.
A total of 613 candidates are in the electoral fray for 54 constituencies across nine districts of Mau, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Varanasi, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, and Bhadohi (Sant Ravidas Nagar).
Voting for the last phase of the seven-phased Uttar Pradesh elections began at 7 am today and will continue till 6 pm.
The constituencies that will be polling today are Atraulia, Gopalpur, Sagadi, Mubarakpur, Azamgarh, Nizamabad, Phulpur-Powai, Deedarganj, Lalganj (SC), Mehnagar (SC), Madhuban, Ghosi, Muhammadabad-Gohna (SC), Mau, Badlapur, Shahganj, Ghazipur, Jangipur, Zahurabad, Mohammedabad, Zamania, Mughalsarai, Sakaldiha, Saidaraja, Chakia (SC), Pindra, Ajgara (SC), Shivpur, Rohaniya, Varanasi North, Varanasi South, Varanasi Cantonment, Sevapuri, Bhadohi, Gyanpur, Aurai (SC), Chanbe (SC), Mirzapur, Majhawan, Chunar, Madihan, Ghorawal, Robertsganj, Obra (ST) and Duddhi (ST). Of these, 11 seats are reserved for scheduled castes and 2 for scheduled tribes.
As many as 2.06 crore eligible voters will seal the fate of 613 candidates who are in the electoral fray for 54 Assembly seats.
The counting of votes will take place on March 10.