The first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in western Uttar Pradesh witnessed an approximate 58% voter turnout across eight constituencies. According to data released by the Election Commission, Saharanpur reported 63.29% voting, Moradabad 57.83%, Kairana 60.39%, Nagina 59.17%, Pilibhit 60.23%, Bijnor 54.68%, Rampur 52.42%, and Muzaffarnagar 54.91%.
While the polling process was largely peaceful, the Samajwadi Party alleged instances of EVM malfunctioning and booth capturing by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Muzaffarnagar and Kairana. However, the overall voting process proceeded without major disruptions.
Navdeep Rinwa, chief electoral officer of UP, reported an average voter turnout of 57.54% across all eight constituencies till 5 pm. He assured that the Election Commission closely monitored the polling activities, conducted across 14,849 polling booths at 7,689 centers.
Responding to allegations of booth capturing and EVM malfunctioning, Rinwa stated that the state election commission has requested detailed reports from the concerned districts. He further mentioned that instances where the district administration was accused of hindering voting were verified through CCTV cameras installed at polling booths, confirming smooth polling activities.
In a separate incident, Muzaffarnagar SP candidate Harendra Malik accused BJP agents of capturing a booth in candidate Sanjeev Baliyan’s village Kutbi Kutba. The SP highlighted these concerns on social media platforms and urged the Election Commission to investigate.
Elaborate security arrangements were implemented at polling centers, with approximately 6,018 inspectors and sub-inspectors, 35,750 constables, 24,992 home guard personnel, along with 60 companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and 220 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) deployed.
In the 2019 general elections, the BJP secured three seats, namely Pilibhit, Kairana, and Muzaffarnagar. The Samajwadi Party won in Moradabad and Rampur, while the Bahujan Samaj Party claimed victory in Saharanpur, Bijnor, and Nagina. Notably, the BJP later won the Rampur seat in a by-poll held in June 2022.
Candidates contesting from various constituencies include Mohibullah Nadvi, Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi, Zeeshan Khan, Ruchi Veera, Kunwar Sarvesh Kumar Singh, Irfan Saifi, Iqra Hasan, Pradeep Choudhary, Shripal Rana, Jitin Prasada, Bhagwat Saran Gangwar, Anis Ahmed Khan, Harendra Singh Malik, Sanjeev Balyan, Dara Singh Prajapati, Raghav Lakhanpal, Majid Ali, Imran Masood, Deepak Saini, Chandan Chauhan, Chaudhary Vijendra Singh, Om Kumar, Manoj Kumar, and Surendra Raj Singh.
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