Lucknow, Oct 23 (PTI): Voters cast ballots for 11 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council (MLC), comprising five graduate and six teachers' constituencies, on Friday, with the contest seen as a prestige battle between the ruling BJP and the Samajwadi Party.

According to official data, the turnout stood at 55.24 per cent till 4.00 pm.

The Gorakhpur-Faizabad teachers' constituency recorded the highest turnout at 79.01 per cent, followed by the Bareilly-Moradabad teachers' constituency at 73.69 per cent. The Varanasi teachers' constituency recorded a turnout of 68.21 per cent, followed by the Agra teachers' constituency (63.84 per cent), Meerut teachers' constituency (60.80 per cent), and Lucknow teachers' constituency (50.92 per cent).

Among the graduates' constituencies, Agra witnessed the highest voter turnout at 51 per cent, followed by Allahabad-Jhansi (41.40 per cent), Varanasi (41.01 per cent), Meerut (39.81 per cent) and Lucknow (38.02 per cent). Barring Unnao, Kanpur and Kanpur Dehat, the remaining 72 districts of Uttar Pradesh voted in this election, UP's Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa told PTI.

Lucknow set up 259 polling booths for the elections, with more than 1.16 lakh registered voters eligible to exercise their franchise.

In Gorakhpur, BJP and Samajwadi Party workers clashed at DAV Degree College, with both sides accusing each other of attempting to influence the polling process. Workers from both sides were seen pushing and shoving in the presence of SP candidate Dr Sanjayan Tripathi.

Uttar Pradesh Jal Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh, after casting his vote at the district council office in Orai for the Allahabad-Jhansi graduate constituency, claimed that BJP would win all 11 seats, citing the work of Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath governments.

Amid the polling, hoardings targeting Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and other party leaders surfaced at several locations in Lucknow, Ballia and Sitapur.

Some posters depicted Yadav wearing a skullcap alongside slain gangster Atiq Ahmed and jailed leader Azam Khan, while others targeted his family.

SP workers tore down some of the hoardings, accusing the BJP of trying to influence voters and create tension on polling day. Police said no one had claimed responsibility for putting up the hoardings in Ballia and an investigation was underway.

In Fatehpur district, supporters of candidates allegedly affiliated with the BJP and Samajwadi Party clashed outside a polling centre over allegations of booth capturing, an official said.

The incident occurred around 10 am at Vijayipur block, where a heated argument between the two groups over claims of forced voting escalated into a scuffle.

A video of the incident surfaced on social media, but the allegation of forced voting could not be independently verified. Fatehpur Superintendent of Police Abhimanyu Manglik told PTI that police intervened and brought the situation under control. He described the incident as a minor scuffle and denied that polling was disrupted. Voting continued peacefully, and an investigation is underway.

Manglik said further action will be taken if required.

In a statement issued by the Samajwadi Party, its chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said in the (ongoing) MLC polls, the BJP, fearing defeat, resorted to every possible tactic: Rigging the polls, engaging in dishonest practices, and using the administration to harass the opposition.

"Flouting all norms of public decorum and morality, BJP ministers, MLAs, and influential leaders, showing a complete disregard for the dignity of their positions, went so far as to manipulate the voting process, engage in booth capturing, and effectively murder democracy. In several locations, only those carrying slips marked with the BJP's colours were permitted to vote, while BJP-aligned voters were allowed to cast their ballots without any identity verification," Chaudhary said in the statement.

He said the Election Commission has remained asleep and despite complaints, it took no action.

"By acting as a political worker for the BJP, the Election Commission was involved in the murder of democracy. This situation is deeply alarming for a democracy. If the Election Commission itself prevents the conduct of fair elections, then the nation must rise against this dictatorship," Chaudhary said.

The elections are using ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs). The five graduate constituencies are Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut and Allahabad-Jhansi.  The six teachers' constituencies are Lucknow, Agra, Varanasi, Meerut, Bareilly-Moradabad and Gorakhpur-Faizabad.

The elections were announced as the terms of the members elected from these constituencies are due to end on December 6.  A graduates' constituency is one in which only graduates from any recognised Indian university, or those with an equivalent qualification, are qualified to be enrolled in the voter rolls.

Similarly, in a teachers' constituency, only full-time teachers at a secondary school or higher for at least three of the previous six years are eligible to vote.

Schools from nursery to Class 12 were closed in several districts for the polling, while colleges, universities and other higher education institutions shut in some areas. The institutions are scheduled to reopen on Saturday.

Vote counting will take place on October 27. PTI CDN NAV KSI ASD

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)