Lucknow: Under the necessary COVID measures, voting for the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Election has begun on Thursday. Total 58 of the 403 assembly seats are in the first phase of polling. Around 57.79%  per cent voter turnout recorded till 5 pm in the first phase of  polls.

These 58 seats are spread across 11 districts, the ruling BJP had won 53, Samajwadi Party won 3 seats and Mayawati's BSP secured only 2 seats in 2017. Its rivals, including the alliance of the Samajwadi Party-Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), were decimated in the polls as the Modi wave continued to hold sway for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.

Poonam Yadav, Sector Magistrate, said, "We've set up 6 booths- 374-379; covering sectors of Raj Nagar. Thermal screening will be done at gates. We have also kept the school cameras off". 

Shrikant Sharma, BJP candidate from Mathura Assembly constituency told news agency that these elections are no ordinary elections but are associated with development and safety of women of the state. In the last five years, we have laid the foundation for a prosperous Uttar Pradesh, said Sharma. 

Former Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya, nine ministers, including Suresh Rana, Shrikant Sharma, and Choudhari Lakshmi Narain are in the fray for the first phase of the election. 

Also, some other big names include- BJP State General Secretary Pankaj Singh, Sangeet Som, Satyaveer Tyagi, and Mriganka Singh.

The Uttar Pradesh Assembly election 2022 will be held from February 10 in seven phases. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.

In the neighbouring Uttarakhand, elections will be held on 14 February 2022 to elect 70 members of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly. The votes will be counted and the results will be declared on 10 March 2022. The total strength of the assembly is 70 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).