Polling started peacefully in Goa and Uttarakhand for single-phase Assembly Election and in Uttar Pradesh for Second of the seven-phase Assembly election. The polling will continue till 6.00 PM. All the necessary facilities and security arrangements have been made to ensure free and fair polling during this phase. In Goa, over 11 percent of polling was recorded till 9 a.m.

In view of the pandemic, the Election Commission has decided to extend the poll timing by one hour in all Assembly Constituencies.

In Uttar Pradesh, there are a total of 2.02 crore eligible voters in this phase. In all, 23,404 Polling Stations have been set up in the concerned constituencies. 586 candidates are in fray for 55 assembly seats spread over 9 districts of the state.

Our correspondent reports, 1 crore 8 lakh male voters and 94 lakh female voters along with 1269 voters of third gender are deciding the political fate of 586 candidates including 69 women candidates In this phase of elections today. A total of 23404 polling booths have been set up for this phase of elections including 252 Adarsh polling stations and 127 all-women workers polling places.

The prominent faces in the fray in this phase include senior Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan, former minister in UP government Dharam Singh Saini, Dharam pal Singh Ministers in state government Suresh Khanna, Baldev aulakh, Gulab Devi and former mayor of Bareilly, Supriya Aron.

These districts which are going to poll today are Saharanpur, Bijnor, Amroha, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur Badayun and Sambhal. Out of the 55 seats which are going for poll today,  BJP bagged 38 last time while Samajwadi Party got 15,and Congress got 2 seats in last assembly elections.

In Goa, 301 candidates including 26 women are contesting for 40 seats out of which one seat is reserved for the Scheduled Castes. Goa has total of over 11.6 lakh electors. 1,722 Polling Stations have been set up across the State for their convenience.

Important candidates whose fate will be decided are Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Deputy Chief Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar, Opposition leader Digambar Kamat, Aam Aadmi Party Chief Ministerial candidate Amit Palekar and independent candidate Utpal Parikar.

State Chief Electoral Officer Kunal said, elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure free and fair elections in Goa.

Fifty polling stations are being managed by all women whereas some polling stations are handled by persons with disabilities. Ten polling booths have been decorated using eco-friendly material, while 105 pink booths will be managed by polling officials. More than one hundred all-women polling booths have also been set up for the convenience of female voters.

For the first time BJP is contesting all 40 assembly seats, while Congress and Goa Forward Block (GFP) are in contention in all seats. TMC and Maharastrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) are contesting 39 seats. Similarily AAP is also contesting 39 seats. While NCP and Shiv Sena are together fighting in 23 seats. The newly formed Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) has fielded candidates in 38 constituencies.

In Uttarakhand, polling in one-phase for all 70 Assembly seats began at 8 AM this morning. A total of 632 candidates are in the electoral fray in the state. More than 81 lakh voters will cast their votes at 11 thousand 6 hundred 47 Polling stations across the state today. Voters will decide political future of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami who is contesting from Khatima Assembly seat and Formar Chief Minister Harish Singh Rawat who is contesting in Lal Kuna seat of Nainital District. All the necessary arrangements have been made for free and fair elections.

In view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and rising cases of Omicron variant across the country, Election Commission has laid focus on COVID-safe elections with maximum participation.

The COVID-19 patients, who are quarantined, will be allowed to cast their vote at the last hour of the poll day at their respective Polling Stations, under the supervision of health authorities, strictly following COVID-19 related preventive measures. Proper mechanism of collection and disposal of waste or used gloves will be put in place at each Polling Station.