The Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections for 11 seats recorded a 55.24% voter turnout by 4 pm on Friday, with polling held in 72 of the state’s 75 districts. Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa told PTI that the remaining districts—Unnao, Kanpur, and Kanpur Dehat—had already voted, bringing the total to 11 seats contested across five graduate and six teachers’ constituencies.
In Gorakhpur, BJP and SP workers collided at DAV Degree College, where SP candidate Dr. Sanjayan Tripathi was present. The melee involved pushing and shoving, and police had to intervene before the vote at the council office in Orai could be cast by the mayor of Allahabad‑Jhansi.
Hoardings bearing images of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and other party leaders appeared in Lucknow, Ballia and Sitapur. SP workers removed several of these posters, alleging the BJP was attempting to influence voters. Police said no one had claimed responsibility for the hoardings, and an inquiry is underway.
Outside a polling centre in Vijayipur block, Fatehpur, supporters of candidates linked to both parties clashed over alleged booth‑capturing. Superintendent of Police Abhimanyu Manglik called the incident a minor scuffle and said the situation was brought under control, though an investigation remains active.
SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary accused the BJP of rigging, claiming that BJP‑aligned voters were allowed to vote without identity verification while others were denied. He also alleged that the Election Commission failed to act on these complaints, calling for a probe into the conduct of the polls.
With the election commission investigating the clashes and allegations, both parties are preparing formal complaints. The next step will be a court hearing on the validity of the allegations and a possible review of the polling process.