57 pc votes cast in UP phase six polls

Lucknow, India, Feb 28 (PTI) The northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh went through another phase of polling today to constitute the next state legislative assembly. The polling in the sixth and penultimate round involved an electorate of 21.7 million voters spread over 68 constituencies with 1,103 candidates in fray. An estimated 57 per cent of votes were cast with voting by and large peaceful. "Barring minor incidents, polling process was peacefully over at 5 PM and as per an estimate 57 per cent of 2.17 crore voters exercised their franchise," an Election Commission official said. Elections to constitute the 403 member legislative assembly of Uttar Pradesh, most populous Indian state, has been staggered over seven phases with the first round on February 8 and the last round on March 3, for better management of the polling process. With six phases now over, the fate of 5,777 candidates has been sealed in 343 constituencies. Today's round was in constituencies at the western end of the state adjacent to Delhi and included the districts of Meerut, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Mathura, Agra, Aligarh, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Prabuddha Nagar and Mahamaya Nagar. PTI Caption for pic: Young voters show their marked fingers after casting votes during the sixth phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in Noida near Delhi on Tuesday. PTI Photo