Amid sporadic incidents of violence, an estimated 70 per cent of the 2.98 crore voters have exercised their franchise in the fourth and last phase of the three tier Panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh which passed off peacefully in 17 districts on Thursday.
Poll-related violence was reported from Sitapur,  Bahriach and Farrukhabad. The State Election Commission (SEC) said here that the polling was peaceful from 7am till 6pm.  Till 5pm, the average polling in these 17 districts were 61.19 per cent . At that time Sambhal district  recorded the highest of 67 per cent of votes while the lowest was in Banda of 51.96 per cent.  Over 20.9 million voters will decide the fate of 2.10 lakh candidates in the last phase of voting.  During this time, voting is being done for 1,11,053 posts in these 17 districts.
Polling  were held in the districts of Bulandshahar, Hapur, Sambhal, Shahjahanpur ,Aligarh, Mathura, Farrukhabad, Banda ,Kaushambi ,Sitapur, Ambedkaranagar ,Bahraich, Basti  Kushinagar, Ghazipur ,Sonbhadra and Mau.
A report from Sitapur said firing and brickbatting was witnessed between two groups at Haturi vilkage under Imalia Sultanpur police station area near a polling booth. Several people were injured in the clash which started after a Pradhan candidate opposed deletion of 250 voters from the electoral rolls. In Semesa village in Sitapur , too some miscreants  poured water in a ballot box.
Reports from Farrukhabad said some people poured ink in the ballot box at Naugaon village in Kayamganj area after a dispute over fake voting by some women. In the same district,  around 500 ballot papers were found missing in Jaitpur village under Barhpur police station area.
In Bahraich , a pradhan candidate's husband and her 2 brother- in -laws were attacked , and they were critically injured. The incident occurred at Nauranda village under Hazurpur police station area where three brothers were attacked when they opposed distribution of money by rival candidates.
In Ambedkarnagar, polling in two Pradhan posts was postponed due to the death of candidates last night. These seats are of gram panchayat Dekhwa under Barswari block and Sahnajawa village of Ramnagar block. The first phase of polling in 18 districts was held on April 15 , when around 71 per cent of the over 3 crore voters used their franchise.  In the second phase  of polling held on April 19 in 20 districts,   around 73 per cent voters used their franchise. In the third phase polling held on April 26, in 20 districts over 73 per cent of voters used their franchise.
Elections for 58,189 village panchayats of Uttar Pradesh are taking place in four phases, between April 15 and 29, with the counting of votes scheduled for May 2. This panchayat polls is termed as a semi final before the 2022 assembly polls in the state. The polls will be a key test of the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government’s popularity, and an opportunity for opposition parties to gauge the public mood, particularly as they come against the backdrop of persisting farmers’ protests in the country that have also gripped parts of UP. The Allahabad High Court had directed the government to complete the election process by May 25.  In compliance with the same, voting is being held from April 15.