Lok Sabha polls: 49 per cent voting in Ghaziabad till 3 PM

GHAZIABAD: An impressive 49 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 3 PM in high-profile Ghaziabad constituency where 22.64 lakh eligible electorates are exercising their franchise.

Enthused by the long queue in front of polling booths, election officials are hoping that 60 per cent of the electorates would cast their vote till polling ends at 6 PM. Only 45.3 per cent of the eligible voters turned out here in 2009 general election.

"People started coming since morning and the turnout has been very impressive. Till 3 PM, it was 49 per cent. Going by the trend, it is likely to go up to 60 per cent till voting closes at 6 PM," District Magistrate SVS Rangarao told PTI.

Voting has been peaceful and no untoward incident was reported so far, he added.

"I have never seen such a smooth and peaceful polling in my 12 years of service," said Deshbir Singh, a constable on election duty in Rajnagar's Schiller School polling station.

Adjoining Delhi, the constituency has almost an equal number of rural and urban voters.

Former army chief V K Singh is contesting from here on BJP ticket. He is pitted against Congress's Raj Babbar, Aaam Admi Party's Shazia Ilmi and BSP's Mukul Upadhyay.

The EC has identified 177 polling booths as 'critical' out of the total 2,172 booths. Around 21,600 civil and paramilitary forces personnel have been deployed to ensure smooth polling

Ritu (23), a first-time voter from Patel Nagar area of the constituency, said she came to cast her vote to ensure that the poor get some benefit and the youth get jobs.

Accompanied by a relative, Rammati, a septuagenarian visually-challenged woman, said she has voted to "ensure that prices of essential commodities do not rise."