Lucknow:
Over 10.3 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the first two hours in Uttar Pradesh, where polling is underway on 18 seats to decide the fate of 328 candidates including Narendra Modi, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Arvind Kejriwal.
Over 3 crore voters, including 1.42 crore women, will be exercising their franchise at 19,881 polling centres to decide the fate of 328 candidates, including 14 women and various political stalwarts.
A report from Maharajganj said that technical problems were reported in polling machines in three polling stations of Nautenwa, Panera and Sadar while a village in Ballia is boycotting polling.
While maximum number of 42 candidates are in fray from Varanasi, minimum of 12 candidates are contesting from Bansgaon. On these 18 seats, Samajwadi Party had clinched six seats from the region, BSP 5, BJP 4 and Congress 3 in 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
BSP had registered marginal loss and ended up in the second place in 12 seats. In 2009 Lok Sabha polls, 46.55 per cent votes were polled in these constituencies, while in 2012 assembly polls the percentage was 56.28.