News Analysis India

Tag: UP Panchayat polls

  • UP: Over 2,000 state government employees on panchayat poll duty died due to Covid, say data

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: Going by the compensation figures, revealed by Uttar Pradesh, over 2,000 state government employees, half of them teachers, died after catching Covid while on duty during the panchayat polls.

    The elections were held in April-May.

    The Uttar Pradesh government will give Rs 30 lakh as compensation to the family of the each of its 2,020 employees, who died during the poll duty, according to a senior official.

    Earlier, the state government had claimed that only 74 government employees, including three teachers, had died during the poll duty.

    The Uttar Pradesh Prathamik Shikshak Sangh had released a list of 1,621 primary schoolteachers and other staff, claiming that they died after contracting COVID-19 while performing election duty between April 15 and May 5.

    The new compensation figures came after the government revised it norms.

    A senior official said of the Rs 600 crore sanctioned for it, the Department of Panchyati Raj released Rs 300 crore to the State Election Commission for disbursement.

    “We received 3,078 applications for compensation. Of them, 2,020 were found eligible and recommendations to give them compensation were forwarded to the SEC. Among, the 2020 eligible for compensation, 50 per cent are teachers,” Additional Chief Secretary (Panchayati Raj) Manoj Kumar Singh told PTI.

    He said in the panchyat polls, over 11 lakh government employees were put on election duty and among them 65 per cent, over 6.5 lakh, were teachers.

    The applications were received under revised protocols for determining death on duty from Covid.

    The protocols were revised after various associations contested the state government’s numbers.

    Under the earlier rules, compensation could be given only if the employee died on duty or during travel to and from place of duty, which factored in a day or maximum two, depending on how far the employee travelled.

    The UP Cabinet in June approved the financial assistance, including those who succumbed to COVID-19 within 30 days of poll duty, a spokesperson had said.

    The Cabinet also increased the relief amount from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.

    The state on Friday reported 88 fresh coronavirus cases and six deaths, taking the total number of infections and fatalities to 17,07,741 and 22,711 respectively, the health bulletin said.

    Among the latest deaths, two were reported from Kanpur, followed by one each from Amethi, Unnao, Auraiya and Jalaun.

    In the past 24 hours, 140 persons were discharged after recovering from the infection, Health Additional Chief Secretary Amit Mohan Prasad said, adding the total number of recoveries in the state has reached 16,83,691.

    The number of active cases in Uttar Pradesh stands at 1,339, he said.

    The recovery rate is now 98.6 per cent, he added.

    So far, over 6.18 crore samples have been tested for COVID-19 in the state, including 2.6 lakh that were examined on Thursday.

    He further said a total of 3.95 crore doses of the vaccine against Covid have been administered in the state so far.

    Earlier, Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath was informed that Aligarh, Hathras, Kasganj, Lalitpur, Mahoba and Shravasti were free from Covid, an official statement said.

    Of the 75 districts, no fresh cases were found in 38 districts in the past few days, it added.

  • People’s ‘faith’ in UP government’s policies led to victory in panchayat polls: CM Yogi Adityanath

    By ANI
    LUCKNOW: Attributing Bharatiya Janata Party’s massive victory in the three-tier panchayat elections to the hard work of the party workers and the welfare policies of the government, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that the win reflects the people’s ‘unwavering faith’ in the policies of the BJP government.

    Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister attributed Bharatiya Janata Party’s massive victory in the three-tier panchayat elections to the hard work of the workers and the welfare policies of the government. Addressing a press conference at the party’s state office, he said on Saturday that the victory of BJP in the three-tier panchayat elections is actually the result of teamwork.

    He said, “As per the trends so far, the BJP seems to be winning 635 out of the total 825 seats. This number may increase further. He said that the party had fielded its candidates in 735 seats while candidates of its ally Apna Dal (S) were in the fray in 14 seats.”

    “Apart from this, there were 76 seats where there was a friendly war between two BJP candidates. 75852 Kshetra Panchayat members elected 825 block panchayat heads. It was a huge electoral process that was conducted by the government with transparency,” said the UP CM.

    He said that earlier in the 75 seats of district panchayat presidents, 73 of BJP and two of Apna Dal (S) were in the fray, in which BJP had won 66 and Apna Dal (S) candidate was victorious in one. “The victory in the Panchayat elections shows that the people have unwavering faith in the policies of the BJP government”, said Adityanath.

    Terming panchayat polls as one of the ‘biggest elections in the Indian democracy’, he said that amid the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the BJP workers led to the party’s victory with their hard work and dedication.

    Stating that many BJP workers contracted COVID-19 infection and many succumbed to the disease, the UP CM condoled their deaths. “While lakhs of workers made an invaluable contribution in the successful completion of the voting. During this, some people also came under the grip of Coronavirus and some died untimely. The government pays deep condolences to their families. Along with giving financial help to their dependents, the government will also give a job to a member,” said Adityanath.

  • UP Panchayat polls victory a shot in arm for Yogi Adityanath

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: After months of speculation over the leadership issue in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is now basking in the glory of the victory in the Zila Panchayat elections. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the party brass in hailing the chief minister for the victory, the BJP has seemingly given a clear message that the party will no more have ears for factionalism in the state unit. 

    With 66 of the 75 Zila Panchayat chairman seats in its kitty, the BJP is already going to the town with claims that the people in the state have rejected the “false narrative built by the Opposition over the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic”.

    While Zila Panchayat polls aren’t entirely known to be a true indicator to predict the outcome of the state Assembly elections, the BJP’s performance nonetheless has clearly made the brass of the party back to the chief minister fully. Along with the Prime Minister, top functionaries of the BJP in their congratulatory messages made it a point to credit the Adityanath along with the state unit chief Swatantra Dev Singh for the victory in the elections. 

    The Zila Panchayat elections appear to have given a shot in the arm of the chief minister, who faced speculation of the top party leadership sending the former senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) A K Sharma to keep a check on him. 

    After a series of meetings in the national capital, including one with the Prime Minister with the UP chief minister, Sharma was finally appointed the vice president of the state unit to put an end to all speculation about his role in the government besides the Cabinet reshuffle in Lucknow.

  • Mayawati sacks 2 senior party leaders for anti-party activities

    By Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: All isn’t well in the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh as around eight months before the politically-crucial state goes to assembly polls, the Mayawati-led party expelled two senior leaders, including state legislature party leader Lalji Verma and former state party president Ramachal Rajbhar from the party for anti-party activities.

    Verma and Rajbhar, both senior OBC leaders of the party and ministers in the erstwhile Mayawati government, are legislators from Ambedkar Nagar district of East UP.

    The sacking of the two OBC leaders came close on the heels of party’s dismal performance in recently concluded Panchayat polls in the state, particularly in the Ambedkar Nagar district — a bright spots for the BSP despite the dismal show in the 2017 Vidhan Sabha polls.

    The BSP performed badly in the panchayat polls, finishing a distant third behind BJP and SP. The party’s political prospects were badly hurt in Ambedkar Nagar district, which has long been considered the party’s strong belt in the eastern UP.

    As per the official BSP statement released on Thursday, both the MLAs have been expelled for anti-party activities during the recent panchayat polls and the two-time MLA from Mubarkpur seat of Azamgarh district Shah Alam ‘Guddu Jamali’ has been nominated the new leader of the party in the Vidhan Sabha.With this most senior leaders of the party have either turned rebel or else been suspended/expelled from the party for hobnobbing with the prime opposition SP or the ruling BJP in UP.

    According to informed political sources, the expulsion of the two senior OBC leaders from the party doesn’t augur well for the party in the powerful OBC segment, despite the party having appointed another OBC leader Bhima Rajbhar as the state party president last year.

    The development assumes more significance as it has happened around eight months before the next assembly polls in the state. The two expelled leaders have reportedly been in touch with the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP for last few months.

    Also, the expulsions mean that the BSP has so far seen 11 of its 19 MLAs turn rebel in UP. BSP had won 19 seats in 2017 assembly polls in the state.

    Aslam Raini, one of the 11 rebel BSP MLAs, dubbed the latest expulsion of the two senior BSP leaders from the party as the forerunner about the end of the party in the state it ruled between 2007 and 2012. He blamed party national general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra for repeated expulsion and suspension of senior leaders from the party.

    Raini, the legislator from Bhinga seat of East UP’s Shrawasti district was among the seven MLAs suspended by party supremo Mayawati for rebellion in the 2020 Rajya Sabha polls.

  • UP panchayat polls: Rival sides claim grand show as party symbols not used for contest

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: As counting of votes polled in the panchayat polls progressed across Uttar Pradesh, political parties Tuesday claimed sterling performances, apparently taking advantage of the fact that these elections were not contested on party symbols.

    A senior State Election Commission (SEC) official said Tuesday evening that counting of votes was likely to continue late into the night.

    He, however, could not specify on how many seats counting was underway.

    The counting of votes began Sunday morning at more than 825 centres across the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

    Over 8.69 lakh posts were up for grabs in these polls.

    Of these posts, more than 7.32 lakh seats were in the gram panchayat wards, 58,176 in the gram panchayats, 75,852 in the kshetra (block) panchayats and 3,050 in the zila panchayats.

    The BJP has claimed 918 party candidates have been elected for zila panchayats while over 500 are leading.

    In a statement issued here, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Swatantra Deo Singh claimed on Monday that in the three-tier panchayat election in the state, over 45,000 party-supported candidates have won the post of village pradhan, while more than 60,000 party-supported candidates have emerged victorious as members of kshetra panchayats.

    “As many as 918 party-supported candidates have won the post of members of zila panchayat,” he had said.

    “On more than 450 seats, the party-supported candidates have taken a decisive lead,” Singh had said, attributing the performances to rural development and farmers’ welfare ensured by the Yogi Adityanath government in the state.

    The Samajwadi Party too claimed a big victory over the BJP in the polls.

    The SP claimed it had won more than half of the posts in district panchayats, while alleging the administration was not handing over certificates to its candidates.

    An SP office-bearer said it has so far won over 800 seats of district panchayat members (out of total 3,050).

    He alleged that BJP men are misusing official machinery and counting independent candidates as those supported by them.

    The SP has not yet released the list of its winning candidates.

    Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav, meanwhile, on Tuesday claimed that in the UP panchayat polls people gave first priority to his party and said that they did a tremendous job to save the democracy by electing his party candidates.

    “Even in the Prime Minister’s constituency (Varanasi) and CM’s turf (Gorakhpur), the BJP had to taste defeat. In Lucknow too, the BJP had to taste defeat despite misuse of official machinery,” the SP chief said.

    He said, “The panchayat election results showed that the BJP is now a sinking ship. Signals emanating from the panchayat polls in the state show that the BJP will be wiped out in 2022 (UP Assembly elections),” he said.

    “A few days are left for the formation of the SP government and removal of the present BJP government,” the opposition leader said.

    Besides the BJP and the Samajwadi Party, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) too claimed big wins in the Uttar Pradesh panchayat election.

    AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said 70 candidates backed by his party were elected as zila panchayat members.

    Over 200 AAP members bagged village pradhan posts, he said.

    The Congress on Tuesday claimed that 389 party supported candidates have won the zila panchayat members’ post in the ongoing panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh, a senior party leader said.

    “As many as 389 party supported candidates have won the zila panchayat members’ post in the ongoing panchayat elections in the state,” UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu told PTI.

    He said that a large number of party-backed candidates have won the post of pradhan of village panchayats as well.

    The state election commission said over 3.19 lakh candidates were elected unopposed in the panchayat election.

    Votes were being counted to declare results for over 3.27 lakh panchayat posts.

    The rest of the posts remained uncontested, the commission said.

    Uttar Pradesh held panchayat polls in four phases ending April 29.

    The election was held at four levels of panchayat bodies, gram panchayat, gram pradhan, block panchayat and zila panchayat.

  • Counting of votes in UP panchayat polls to be held on May 2 after Supreme Court’s nod

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: Counting of votes for the panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh will be held on Sunday with the Supreme Court on Saturday refusing to stay the process and the State Election Commission (SEC) saying the candidates and their agents will be allowed to enter the counting centres only if they have tested negative for COVID-19 in the 48 hours prior to the commencement of the counting process or taken both doses of the vaccine.

    In a special urgent hearing on a holiday, a bench of justices AM Khanwilkar and Hrishikesh Roy passed the order after taking note of several notifications and assurances of the SEC that the COVID-19 protocols will be followed at all the 829 counting centres.

    The court directed that there will be a strict curfew in the entire state till Tuesday morning and no victory rallies will be permitted.

    It also asked the SEC to fix the responsibility for observance of COVID-19 protocols at the counting centres on gazetted officers.

    The bench directed the poll panel to preserve the CCTV footage of the counting centres till the Allahabad High Court concludes its hearings on the related petitions before it.

    It also ordered that the government officials, candidates and their agents will have to produce RT-PCR test reports to show that they are COVID-19 negative before entering the counting centres.

    The top court’s direction came on a plea seeking a direction for observance of COVID-19 protocols during counting of votes.

    The Uttar Pradesh Prathmik Shikshak Sangh (UPPSS), in a letter dated April 29 and addressed to the chief minister and the state election commissioner, had said if the counting of votes on May 2 was not cancelled, the teachers will boycott poll duty.

    Meanwhile, UPMSS (Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shikshak Sangh) spokesperson RP Mishra said the election officials have been informed that the circumstances in which the polling was held and non-compliance of COVID norms led to the infection spreading to a large number of poll staff and also deaths.

    In this horrific situation, going ahead with the counting of votes is not appropriate.

    It also said the kin of the teachers who succumbed to COVID-19 during poll duty be given a compensation of Rs 50 lakh each.

    A spokesperson of the Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh Virendra Mishra told PTI that the organisation has given a call to boycott the counting of votes.

    When he was informed that the Supreme Court has refused to grant a stay on the counting of votes on May 2, he said the court is doing its job, but “we have to protect our own lives”.

    “We are not commenting on the court, but seeing the rigid approach of the government, the teachers will not go for the counting of votes,” he said.

    On April 27, taking note of reports about the death of government employees due to COVID during panchayat poll duty, the Allahabad High Court had asked the SEC why action may not be taken against it and its officials for the same.

    A two-judge bench of Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Ajit Kumar passed the order on a suo motu public interest litigation matter on the spread of the coronavirus and the condition of the state’s quarantine centres.

    When contacted, BJP MLC Hari Singh Dhillon, who had urged the chief minister to postpone the poll results until the COVID situation improves, said some teachers came to him highlighting their plight.

    Asked to comment on the teachers’ call to boycott the counting of votes, SK Singh, Officer on Special Duty at the SEC, said, “The respective district magistrates will have to take a decision.”

    On whether the boycott call would delay the counting process, he evaded a direct reply and said all preparations have been made to ensure a smooth counting.

    Singh said the SEC does not have a centralised database of the number of teachers involved in the counting process.

    “The counting of votes will begin at 8 am and continue till all the ballots are counted. The entire process may take two days,” a senior SEC official told PTI.

    Generally, counting of votes takes place in eight-hour shifts, he said.

    The SEC said at every counting centre, a health desk will be established, where a doctor will be present with medicines.

    Those showing symptoms of COVID-19 such as fever, cold and cough will not be allowed at the counting centres.

    Everyone entering the counting centre has to undergo thermal scanning, the SEC said.

    It categorically stated that there will be a complete ban on victory processions.

    Directions have been issued to make arrangements for sanitiser, soap and water at the counting centres, and everyone visiting the centres will have to compulsorily wear a mask and maintain social distancing.

    Voting for the panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh ended on April 29 with a 75-per cent voter turnout in the final phase.

    Lakhs of candidates were in the fray for over 7.32 lakh seats in the gram panchayat wards, 58,176 in the gram panchayats, 75,852 in the kshetra panchayats and 3,050 in the zila panchayats in the statewide elections held over four phases.

    A total of 3.19 lakh candidates have been elected unopposed, the SEC informed.

    The high court had asked the state government to conclude the panchayat poll process by May 25.

  • Supreme Court refuses to stay counting of votes for Uttar Pradesh​ panchayat polls

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Saturday refused to stay the counting of votes for panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh and said no victory rallies will be permitted during the counting or after the process is over.

    At a special urgent hearing, which took place on a court holiday ahead of the counting beginning on Sunday, a bench comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and Hrishikesh Roy also asked the State Election Commission to fasten responsibility on gazetted officers for observing COVID-19 protocols at counting centres across the state.

    The top court’s directions came on a plea seeking directions for the observance of COVID-19 protocols during the counting of votes in view of the second wave of the pandemic sweeping through the country.

    The bench said government officials, candidates and their agents will have to produce RT-PCR tests to show they are COVID-19 negative before entering the counting centres.

    ALSO READ | ‘Crime against humanity’: Priyanka slams UP govt, SEC for conducting panchayat polls amid COVID crisis

    The top court also directed the state government to ensure there will be strict curfew in and around the counting centres till the process goes on and that no victory rallies are carried out after the announcement of results.

    The court passed the order after taking note of several notifications and assurances from the UP SEC that COVID-19 protocols would be followed at the 829 counting centres.

    It said the poll panel should preserve CCTV footage of counting centres in the state till the Allahabad High Court concludes its hearing on related petitions before it.

    During the hearing, advocate Shoeb Alam, appearing for the petitioner Sachin Yadav, said there are lakhs of candidates in the fray.

    The congregation of a huge number of poll officials and counting agents at the counting centres should be avoided in view of the surge of Covid infections, he said.

    Yadav had challenged an Allahabad High Court order allowing panchayat elections to continue in the state.

    His lawyer Alam said there should be adequate safeguards as the counting process will go on for a couple of days.

    Over 60 crore ballot papers were printed and have to be counted, he pointed out.

    He also referred to a note from the UP primary teachers association saying more than 700 people had lost their lives during the polls.

    Appearing for the UP SEC, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati said directions have been issued from time to time and senior officials have been given the responsibility for maintaining Covid appropriate behaviour.

    She gave an assurance that there would be strict compliance of Covid appropriate behaviour at the counting centres and the counting would be done in shifts so there are no congregations at any particular time.

    She said they had to make a choice between the “devil and the deep sea”, and added that panchayat bodies have also been effective in containing the surge of COVID-19 during the first wave last year.

    On Friday, the top court had sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government and the SEC on Yadav’s plea.

    Uttar Pradesh has been reporting a massive surge in fresh COVID-19 cases.

    Polling for the four-phased panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh ended on April 29.

    The first phase on April 15 and the second round on April 19 recorded a turnout of 71 per cent.

    In the third phase on April 26, 73.5 per cent of registered voters turned out to exercise their franchise, officials said.

  • Panchayat polls: SC seeks replies of UP, SEC on plea for COVID-19 protocol in counting of votes

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Friday sought response from the Uttar Pradesh government and the state election commission (SEC) on a plea seeking direction for observance of COVID-19 protocols in counting of votes on Sunday for recently concluded Panchayat polls there in view of the second wave of COVID-19.

    A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar, while issuing notice to the state government and the poll panel, took note of the submissions of lawyer Shoeb Alam and agreed to hear the appeal on Saturday.

    The bench was hearing the appeal filed by one Sachin Yadav challenging the Allahabad High Court order which had allowed Panchayat elections to continue in the state.

    Alam, during the brief hearing held through video-conferencing, said the polls are now over in the state and the plea can be confined to the observance of COVID-19 protocols in counting of votes on Sunday.

    “What measures will the State Election Commission take for counting,” the bench asked.

    Referring to sudden rise in COVID-19 cases and the consequent burden on the healthcare sector, the plea has sough a stay on the Allahabad High Court order which had allowed the election to continue.

    Uttar Pradesh has been reporting massive surge in fresh COVID-19 cases.

    Polling for the four-phased Panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh ended on April 29.

    The first phase on April 15 and the second round on April 19 recorded a turnout of 71 per cent.

    In the third phase on April 26, 73.5 per cent of registered voters turned out to exercise their franchise, officials said.

  • ‘Neither police, nor EC did anything’: HC questions UP poll body over death of government employees due to COVID

    By PTI
    ALLAHABAD: Taking note of reports about death of government employees due to COVID during Panchayat poll duty in Uttar Pradesh, the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday asked the state election commission why action may not be taken against it and its officials for the same.

    A two-judge bench comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Ajit Kumar passed the order on a suo moto Public Interest Litigation on the spread of coronavirus and the condition of quarantine centres in the state.

    “It is reported that people have levelled allegations that during the recent phases of the Panchayat elections, none of the COVID guidelines have been followed. It appears that neither the police, nor the Election Commission did anything to save the people on election duty from getting infected by this deadly virus,” the court observed.

    For easing the situation, the court proposed some immediate steps to be taken by the government in the cities of Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Agra, Kanpur Nagar, Gorakhpur and Jhansi.

    “Major government hospitals of the above cities should have a health bulletin system twice a day apprising people of health updates of patients to help attendants avoid visiting hospitals. The hospitals may use large screens to give details of patients and their saturation levels,” it directed.

    “The government is also directed to declare on the district portal of the above cities the position of occupied and vacant beds in COVID wards and ICUs of all government hospitals and COVID assigned private hospitals,” the court said.

    The government is also directed to spread awareness about its district COVID portals and sites in newspapers and also through public announcement systems, it said.

    The court said that a negative antigen report should not be a ground to throw a patient out of the hospital as such patients can still infect others.

    They need to be shifted to non-COVID wards for at least a week and for this the government needs to gear up to set up makeshift wards on hospital campuses.

    It directed the government must ensure that every death in COVID hospitals, assigned private hospitals and other COVID centres in every district is reported to a judicial officer, who is to be appointed by the district judge at the end of the day.

    The government shall also ensure the correctness of the data forwarded to the officer concerned each day, the bench said.

    The court said that it will not tolerate any paperwork or public announcements to show account of the steps taken and their sufficiency, as it is now an open secret that the government became complacent in the state due to weakening of the virus by the end of 2020.

    It said the government got more involved in other activities, including the Panchayat elections.

    “We request the district judges of Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Kanpur Nagar, Agra, Gorakhpur, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Jhansi to nominate a judicial officer, civil judge (senior division) or above. The nominated officers shall work as nodal officers in their districts and report to the registrar general every weekend.”

    “The said report shall be placed before us on the next date of hearing which is fixed as May 3,” the court said.

    The state on Tuesday recorded its highest COVID-19 death toll so far as 265 people succumbed to the disease, while the state added nearly 33,000 fresh cases, taking the overall tally to 11,53,097, according to official data.

    With the fresh fatalities, the total death toll in the state reached 11,678, the data showed.

    Of the 265 fresh COVID-19 deaths, state capital Lucknow recorded 39, followed by 15 each in Kanpur and Ghaziabad, while Allahabad and Varanasi recorded 13 deaths each.

    Gautam Buddh Nagar, adjoining the national capital, recorded 12 deaths, the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement issued here on Tuesday.

    Of the 32,993 fresh COVID-19 cases recorded in the state, 4,437 were registered in Lucknow, followed by 2,320 in Kanpur, 1,752 in Varanasi, 1,521 in Allahabad, 1,427 in Bareilly, 1,291 in Meerut and 1,068 in Ghaziabad.

    In the past 24 hours, 30,398 COVID-19 patients have recovered, taking the total number of patients discharged in the state to 8,34,961.

    The count of active COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 306,458, the statement said.

    In the past 24 hours, more than 1.84 lakh samples were tested in the state, taking the overall number to 4.01 crore, the statement said.

    The state’s previous highest one-day toll was 249, reported on Monday.

  • UP panchayat elections: Second phase sees nearly 68 per cent polling

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: Nearly 68 per cent polling was recorded on Monday during the second phase of the Uttar Pradesh panchayat polls in 20 districts, according to the state election commission.

    Of the 20 districts, polling details of 14 have been compiled. While Lalitpur recorded the highest polling percentage of 80.95, Pratapgarh recorded the lowest at 60.06, the commission said.

    Bijnore recorded 73.30, Gonda 66.42, Budaun 73.57, Azamgarh 63.59, Lakhimpur Kheri 77.98, Varanasi 68, Amroha 78.74, Sultanpur 64.50, Mainpuri 74.29, Kannauj 73.81, Gautam Buddh Nagar 75.32, Muzaffarnagar 72.58, Etah 73.24, Etawah 74.22, Chitrakoot 64.03, Baghpat 74.84 and Lucknow 72.

    Over 3.48 lakh candidates were in the fray for over 2.23 lakh posts.

    For the 787 seats of zila panchayat member, there were 11,483 candidates and for the 19,653 seats of kshetra panchayat, there were 85,232 candidates.

    For gram panchayats, there were 1,21,906 candidates for 14,897 posts and for the gram panchayat wards, there were 1,30,305 candidates for 1,87,781 posts.

    More than 2.31 lakh poll officials were deployed by the SEC for a smooth conduct of the panchayat polls.

    In the first phase, which was held on April 15, polling percentage of 71 was recorded.

    The 2015 panchayat polls had registered a polling percentage of 72.11, according to the commission.