Up Nikay Chunav: “The true patriotism is to fulfill one’s responsibility towards the country as a citizen”. Linking this comment of a scholar with the municipal elections, the people of small towns are more patriotic than the big cities (municipal corporation area) with better education and facilities. In the second phase of the municipal elections, more voters of Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayat area than Municipal Corporation have discharged their responsibility by voting.

Baghpat, Mau, Amethi, Hamirpur topped

The interim report released by the State Election Commission (at 5 pm) states that Baghpat has recorded the highest turnout in the second phase in the state. Here 62.72 percent voters have exercised their right to vote. Apart from this, Kanpur Dehat (62.28 %), Mau (61.17 %) Amethi (60.48 %) and Hamirpur (61.09 %) have been toppers.

Number one in literacy, slippage in voting

According to the 2011 census, in the state literacy rate of Uttar Pradesh, the total literacy rate of Uttar Pradesh is 67.72 percent, in which the male literacy rate is 77.3 percent and the female literacy rate is 57.2 percent. Compared to the literacy rate of the state, the voters have not exercised their right to vote in the municipal elections. Gautam Budh Nagar has the highest literacy rate of 80.12% in UP. There has been 50.27 percent polling here. The second literate district is Kanpur Nagar. 79.65 percent of the people here are literate but only 39.07 percent participated in voting.

41.92 percent polling in Ghaziabad, Badaun was better

In Auraiya with 78.95% literacy, 58.01% voting took place. Etawah, which is 78.41% literate, voted 50.93% and Ghaziabad, the fifth most literate district in the state, voted only 41.92%. The literacy rate of Ghaziabad is 78.07%. On the contrary, Badaun, which comes in the districts with the lowest literacy rate of the state, has also scored more than 51.29% in its literacy rate. In Badaun, 54.89 percent polling has taken place.

Municipality – 50% less voting in three districts with Panchayat

Talking about the district having Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayats in the municipal body, there are only three districts where less than 50 percent polling has taken place. In Sonbhadra, 49.54 percent polling has been recorded, in Farrukhabad 49.98 and in Mirzapur 48.94 percent. However, these figures are more than the voting for municipal corporations in metropolitan cities. Barring Shahjahanpur, there has not been 50 percent voting in any municipal corporation.

Polling Locations in Municipal Corporation

– 59.92 percent in Shahjahanpur

• 49.98 percent in Ayodhya

– 46.02 percent in Aligarh

46.75 percent polling in Bareilly

• 45.59 percent polling in Meerut

– 41.92 percent in Ghaziabad

– 39.07 percent in Kanpur city