Rahul Gandhi  asked the people of the country to vote to free the country from “fear” as polling began at 7 am today for the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022. Today, voters spread across 58 Assembly constituencies in 11 districts are casting their vote. 

“Free the country from every fear- Come out, vote!” Gandhi tweeted this morning. 

In the first phase, voters from the Jat-dominant belt of western Uttar Pradesh are choosing their representatives in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. 

Districts which are witnessing polling today include Shamli, Meerut, Hapur, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahar, Aligarh, Agra, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Mathura. 

A total of 25,849 polling stations and 10,766 polling centres have been set up in these districts for the voting which will conclude at 6 pm. A total of 623 candidates are in the fray in the first phase of UP elections 2022. 

The campaigning for the first phase of the UP polls had concluded at 6 pm on Tuesday. 

As part of security measures, the police have sealed Uttar Pradesh’s borders and strict measures have been taken to ensure peace in the constituencies where voting is underway. 

As the voting process in Uttar Pradesh kicked off today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the voters to take part in the elections while following all necessary COVID-19 guidelines.  

“Today is the first phase of voting in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, I request all the voters to participate enthusiastically in this holy festival of democracy by following the rules of COVID. Remember – Vote first, then refreshments,” Modi tweeted in Hindi. 

The Uttar Pradesh elections are being held in seven phases on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27, March 3 and 7. The results will be announced on March 10.