Voting for the second phase of Uttar Pradesh civil elections across 25 districts took place amid tight security today.
Besides Varanasi, the districts which went to polls in the second phase are Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budhnagar, Amroha, Rampur, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Aligarh, Mathura, Mainpuri, Farrukhabad, Etawah, Lalitpur, Banda, Allahabad, Lucknow, Sultanpur, Ambedkarnagar, Bahraich, Shrawasti, Sant Kabirnagar, Deoria, Ballia and Bhadohi.
Over 55 per cent voting was recorded in the first phase on November 22 which covered 24 districts.
The third and last phase will be held on November 29 followed by counting of votes on December 1.
Live Updates:
# UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya & wife Rajkumari Devi cast their votes in Allahabad
Keshav Prasad Maurya & wife Rajkumari Devi cast their votes in Allahabad
# UP Minister Mohsin Raza casts his vote in Lucknow
Mohsin Raza casts his vote in Lucknow
7am: Voting begins across 25 districts
Unlike other parties, the BJP is taking the civic polls seriously and besides CM Yogi Adityanath and his two deputies, senior party leaders are extensively campaigning in the state.
While the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have left the campaigning to second-rank leaders, the Congress has engaged senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Raj Babbar and MP Pramod Tewari to address election meetings in selected cities of the state.