Response in favour of SP: Ram Gopal Yadav confident of party candidates victory in MLC polls

Speaking to reporters after casting his vote in Etawah, Yadav said, The response here in Etawah is in favour of the Samajwadi Party. It is the same in Firozabad, in Agra too, and it is the highest in Aligarh. So both our candidates will winAkash Agarwal for the Teachers' constituency, and for the Graduates' constituency seat as well.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Anil Rajbhar also appealed to voters to exercise their franchise, expressing confidence in his party's candidates.

"We appeal to the voters to cast their votes. Both our candidates will win by a huge margin and enter the Legislative Council. BJP takes all elections seriously, he told ANI.

Polling is underway for biennial Legislative Council elections in Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh following the completion of the terms of sitting members in the respective constituencies.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the terms of eight members in Bihar, four in Karnataka, five in Maharashtra and 11 in Uttar Pradesh are ending, resulting in vacancies.

In Uttar Pradesh, polling is being held in five Graduates' constituencies, Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut and Allahabad-Jhansi, and six Teachers' constituencies, Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, Bareilly-Moradabad and Gorakhpur-Faizabad. The tenures of the sitting members of these 11 constituencies will expire on December 6.

Polling began at 8 am and will continue until 4 pm on Friday. The counting of votes is scheduled for October 27, while the entire election process is to be completed by October 31.

The police department has implemented strict security measures at polling stations to prevent any untoward incidents. Necessary facilities have been provided to enable voters to cast their votes peacefully, while officials are closely monitoring the entire electoral process. (ANI)