Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Around 57.98 per cent of voting was recorded in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, officials said. According to Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa, voting concluded peacefully in the Lucknow East Assembly constituency by-election along with 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state during the fifth phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha General Elections with no untoward incident reported from anywhere.

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"An average of 57.98 per cent voting took place till 6 PM for the 14 Lok Sabha seats in this phase," he said, adding that this figure may change once all data is fully compiled. He further said that according to the data received from the districts, the highest voting took place in Barabanki at 67.10 per cent, and the lowest was in Gonda at 51.64 per cent. Additionally, the turnout was 62.72 per cent in Mohanlalganj, 52.23 per cent in Lucknow, 58.04 per cent in Raebareli, 54.40 per cent in Amethi, 56.15 per cent in Jalaun, 63.70 per cent in Jhansi, 60.56 per cent in Hamirpur, 59.64 per cent in Banda, 57.05 per cent in Fatehpur, 52.79 per cent in Kaushambi, 59.10 per cent in Faizabad, and 55.68 per cent in Kaiserganj.

In the by-election for the Lucknow East Assembly, the turnout was 52.45 per cent. In 2019, these 14 Lok Sabha constituencies also had a total voter turnout of 58.38 per cent. He further noted that this time, due to the efforts of the District Election Officer and local residents, there was 100 per cent voting at three booths in Lalitpur.

The Chief Electoral Officer held a press conference in the conference room on the 7th floor of the election office and informed that to ensure that the voting process was free and fair, webcasting was arranged at 14,984 polling stations. This was supervised at three levels: the District Election Officer, the Chief Electoral Officer, and the Election Commission of India. Additionally, videography was arranged at 4,199 polling stations.

For the fifth phase of postal ballot voting, 21,907 voters in eligible categories (voters over 85 years of age, divyangs, essential services, and polling personnel) cast their votes via postal ballots. For voters over 85 years of age and differently-abled voters who opted for postal ballots, polling teams facilitated voting at their homes. To ensure the process was free, fair, and transparent, a micro observer and videographer accompanied the polling team, and candidates were provided with the schedule of the polling team to observe the entire process themselves or through their agents. The list of eligible voters in this category was also provided to the candidates. The entire voting process was videographed.

Additionally, over 32,250 service voters were issued postal ballots through electronic mode (ETPBS) by the Returning Officer. Furthermore, EDC has been issued to 29,005 personnel.
To keep a vigilant eye on the voting process, the commission deployed 14 General Observers, 9 Police Observers, and 15 Expenditure Observers. Additionally, 2,416 Sector Magistrates, 327 Zonal Magistrates, 549 Static Magistrates, and 3,619 Micro Observers were also deployed. Furthermore, the Election Commission of India appointed a Senior General Observer, a

Senior Police Observer, and a Senior Expenditure Observer at the state level, who oversaw the entire election process from the field.

During the voting, around 250 complaints were received and were promptly resolved by district officials. For the election, all 28,688 polling stations were equipped with the necessary EVMs and VVPATs, and a sufficient number of reserve EVMs and VVPATs were arranged in various districts. Wherever complaints were received during voting, immediate and effective action was taken to replace the EVMs and VVPATs.

According to information received from the districts, during the mock poll for the fifth phase in the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies, a total of 167 BU, 268 CU, and 349 VVPAT were replaced. After voting began and until 6 PM, a total of 67 BU, 67 CU, and 238 VVPATs were replaced.

In the Lucknow East Assembly by-election, during the mock poll, 6 BU, 2 CU, and 11 VVPAT were replaced. After voting began, no BU, CU, or VVPAT were replaced until 6 PM. Adequate paramilitary forces were deployed to ensure the election was conducted peacefully. The responsibility for the security of the EVM strong rooms was also entrusted to the paramilitary forces. The election was conducted entirely peacefully, and no untoward incidents were reported.