2022 Assembly polls | Goa reports 75.29% voting, UP 60.44%, Uttarakhand 62.5%

(Representative image: Reuters)

From ferrying the elderly and differently-abled in 'dolis' to making arrangements for Covid-19 patients, the Election Commission on Monday ensured people in Goa, Uttarakhand and parts of Uttar Pradesh do not miss out on voting in the assembly elections.

The voter turnout reported at 5 pm was 75.29 percent in Goa and 60.44 percent in Uttar Pradesh, the poll panel said, while Uttarakhand till 6 pm reported 62.5 percent.

Voting was held peacefully in all the three states, officials said.

While on Monday, assembly polls in Goa and Uttarakhand were completed in a single phase, for Uttar Pradesh, today was the second of a seven-phase election. The results will be declared on March 10.

According to the commission, special 'divyang dolis' were deployed in Uttarakhand with the help of volunteers from the National Cadet Corps (NCC) for assisting people with disabilities (PwD) and senior citizens to polling stations. In the three states, over 2.19 lakh PwD voters and 4.67 lakh people above 80 years of age were registered to vote across 165 assembly constituencies.

Cracking down on electoral malpractices, the commission had made seizures worth Rs 224.71 crores from the three states since the elections were announced on January 8. "The seizure figure, which includes seizure of cash, liquor, narcotics, freebies etc. up to poll day is more than the total combined seizure of Rs 203.78 crore in the entire General Election to Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa legislative assemblies-2017 including all phases," an Election Commission statement said.

It said 2,400 flying squads and 2,654 static surveillance teams were operationalised to check the movement of cash, liquor, drugs, and freebies in the three states. Besides Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Goa, assembly polls will also be held in Punjab on February 20 and in Manipur on February 28 and March 4.

"The progressive seizure of all five states where assembly elections are being held as on date is Rs 771.25 crore," the commission said. For the Monday phase of polls, 106 general observers, 35 expenditure observers and 39 police observers were deployed by the Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections.

Elaborate arrangements were made to sanitise 36,832 polling stations across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Goa with nodal officers ensuring adequate preventive measures during the entire electoral process. "The last hour of the polling was reserved for the Covid affected or suspect voters and voting was ensured with all Covid appropriate protocols at the polling stations," the commission said.

The elections were conducted for a single-phase election in 40 seats in Goa, 70 seats in Uttarakhand, and for 55 seats in the second phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh.