UP records 23 and Manipur 43 per cent polling till 11 am
In the Samajwadi Party-ruled Uttar Pradesh, which witnesses the sixth and penultimate phase of elections, are involved 49 Assembly seats while Manipur goes to polls in the first phase.
The Assembly segments of Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency, represented by firebrand BJP leader Yogi Adityanath, and Mau, where jailed gangster-turned-MLA Mukhtar Ansari is in fray, figure in this phase of UP polling.
Around 1.72 crore voters, including 94.60 lakh men and 77.84 lakh women, are eligible to cast their votes in this round to decide the fate of 635 candidates, including 63 women.
The districts where polling is going on in the sixth phase are Mau, Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Deoria, Azamgarh and Ballia.
In the Congress-ruled northeastern state of Manipur, all eyes are on Irom Sharmila Chanu, the "Iron lady", whose People's Resurgence Justice Alliance (PRJA) makes electoral debut with three candidates in these polls.
Sharmila, who cast her vote, said she feels responsible after voting after a gap of 20 years.
"Our fight is not merely symbolic. Our party is for youth and change," Sharmila, who made world news by continuing hunger strike for nearly 16 years demandning withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), said.
The first phase covers 38 of the states's 60 constituencies in Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur and the hill districts of Churachandpur and Kangpokpi.
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