Akhilesh vs Baghel duel witnesses second highest turnout since 1951

LUCKNOW: It was a super Sunday in ‘Yadav’ bastion, as not only a large number of voters turned out at polling booths to vote for their popular leaders, but their synergy helped in creating a record as well. At 62.32 % turnout by 5 PM, the constituency had already registered its second-highest polling since 1951. It's highest was in 1974, when it recorded 71.41% turnout.

The seat became high-profile after Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav chose to contest his first assembly election. To counter him, BJP has fielded Union minister of state for law and justice Satya Pal Singh Baghel, who is also a former personal security officer of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.

According to the Election commission of India (ECI), Karhal which has 3.71 lakh registered voters including 1.25 lakh Yadavs and 18,000 Muslims, recorded 62.32% polling till 5 pm, a record which the constituency created after 45-years.

The ECI data of ECI revealed, it was the second highest polling percentage since 1951, when the constituency was divided into Karhal West cum Shikohabad East and Karhal East cum Bhongaon South.

Between 1957 to 1969, the constituency was reserved due to majority of Dalit community.

In 1974, Karhal recorded a whopping 71.41 percent polling, that is 83,215 men and women used their right. In the election, Nathu Singh from Bharatiya Kranti Dal - a state party - won the election by a margin of 6,926 votes.

Since the inception of SP in 1992, Karhal has been dominated by SP. It lost only once in 2002 against BJP. Back then Sobaran Singh Yadav, the current SP MLA from Karhal was a member of BJP and won the seat with a mere 925 votes margin against SP candidate Anil Kumar Yadav.

Sobaran has been an MLA from Karhal since 2002. In 2012, Karhal received the fourth highest percentage of vote (60.98), while in 1980 the constituency registered 61.48 percent votes. In 1980, the seat was won by Congress Candidate Sheo Mangal Singh with a vote margin of 12,459.