Smiling voters, long queues: West UP votes in 1st phase of assembly polls

First phase of polling for 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections was held today. ThePrint's Praveen Jain brings you photos from polling stations in Baghpat, Kairana, and Baraut.

Voters queue up at a polling booth in Nethla village, Baghpat district, during the first day of voting for the 2022 UP assembly elections, Thursday | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

New Delhi: The first phase of polling for the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections started Thursday at 7 am and continued till 6 pm. The first phase of elections is being held in 58 assembly seats spread across 11 districts in western Uttar Pradesh.

Nearly 58 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm.

As many as 623 candidates, including 73 women, were in the fray in the first phase, and around 2.28 crore voters, including 1.24 crore men and 1.04 women, were eligible to cast their votes, state EC officials said.

ThePrint’s national photo editor Praveen Jain visited polling stations in Baghpat, Kairana, and Baraut on the opening day of polls in UP. Snapshots from the centres.

Voters display their ID cards, as they wait in a queue to cast their vote at a polling booth in Shahpur Baroli village in Baghpat| Praveen Jain | ThePrint

A man shows the victory sign after he cast his vote | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

A voter shows his inked finger at a polling booth in Basoli village| Praveen Jain | ThePrint

A woman stands outside a polling booth in Nethla village in Baghpat district | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

A voter on his way to cast his vote in Nethla village in Baghpat district| Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Voters stand in a queue at a polling station in Kairana | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Voters wait for their turn at a polling station in Kairana | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

A woman on her way to cast her vote in the first phase of UP Assembly polls Thursday | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

A young girl helps her grandmother to a polling booth in west UP | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

A young, first-time voter, shows her inked finger after she cast her vote for the 2022 UP assembly elections | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

People hold up their identification documents as they wait to cast their votes in the first phase of 2022 UP Assembly elections | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

A group of women chat outside a polling booth in Kairana | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

A Sashastra Seema Bal officer on guard outside a polling booth in UP’s Shahpur Baroli village | Praveen Jain | ThePrint