Lucknow, Nov 20 (UNI) Voting on nine seats of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly for by-elections began on a slow note as only 9.67 percent votes were polled till 9 pm on Wednesday amid tight security arrangements.
The office of the Chief Electoral Officer of UP said that voting will continue till 6 pm.
Eight of the by-election seats have fallen vacant due as the sitting MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha in the elections held early in the year, while the by-election on the Sisamau seat is being held due to the sitting SP MLA Irfan Solanki being convicted in a criminal case.
The fate of a total of 90 candidates will be decided in the by-elections being held in Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Mirapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sisamau (Kanpur), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj) and Kundarki (Moradabad).

The counting of votes will take place on November 23, and all the results are expected to be declared on the same day. The maximum number of 14 candidates are from Ghaziabad assembly constituency, while the least number of 5 candidates each are from Khair (reserved) and Sisamau seats.
In the last assembly elections (2022), SP had won Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal and Kundarki seats, while BJP had captured Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Khair seats.

Meerapur seat was held by Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which has now become an ally of BJP. At the same time, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has fielded its candidates on Ghaziabad, Kundarki, and Meerapur seats, while Chandrashekhar's Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) has fielded candidates on all the seats except Sisamau.
The main contest in this by-election is between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP). This is the first electoral battle after the Lok Sabha elections, in which the Congress has kept itself out and supported the Samajwadi Party (SP).
On the other hand, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is alone in the electoral fray, fielding its candidates in all nine seats.
Meanwhile, SP candidate Shobha Verma has cast her vote in Katehari of Ambedkar Nagar. After casting her vote, she said, "I am confident that I will get the blessings of the people. She also alleged that the police are trying to put pressure on the people. They are not allowing Muslims to come out."
Leaders of all parties, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and SP President Akhilesh Yadav, have appealed to the voters to vote 100 percent.

Chief Minister Yogi wrote on X, "Voting is going to be held on Wednesday in Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Kundarki, Khair, Karhal, Sisamau, Katehari, Majhawan, and Phulpur assembly seats of Uttar Pradesh.
An appeal to all the respected voters is that they must vote to give more speed and strength to the continuous development journey of Uttar Pradesh. Vote unitedly to bring comprehensive and positive change in the lives of 25 crore people in the state. Remember, first vote, then refreshment.
Akhilesh wrote on Twitter, "The efforts being made 'day and night' for the voting process have made it clear that now voters will go to vote with double enthusiasm. Results are only declared when not even a single vote is divided or reduced. The aware and courageous voters of UP are stepping out of their homes 100 percent of the time for their right to vote, which is the basis of every right.
He said, "I hope the Election Commission and the administration will conduct fair and hassle-free elections in such a way that all the voters of UP will thank and congratulate them. Those who want to create problems in the elections should remember that voters, workers, and officials of all political parties are deployed everywhere with their mobile phones to collect all the evidence so that tomorrow a solid basis can be formed for taking legal action.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President Mayawati said, "Along with the general elections for the state assemblies in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, in the by-elections being held on 9 assembly seats in UP, all voters are appealed to cast their votes with the resolution of ‘voting first, then refreshment’. It is necessary to force the party and the government for public interest and public welfare through votes."
UNI AB ARN