Even as the BJP and Samajwadi Party are claiming clear victory, low turnout in almost two-thirds of the assembly seats during five rounds of polling has baffled political observers.
The voter turnout has been more or less the same as in the 2017 polls, leaving political parties and experts guessing whether it was pro-incumbency or anti-incumbency votes.
As per comparative data of voters turnout in 45 districts in 2017 and five phases of Assembly polls in 2022, there has been no major change in turnout and in over two third of the districts, it was marginally lower in 2022 as compared to 2017.
A look at the voters' turnout in the 2019 general elections in the state also doesn't reflect much of a difference. While some attribute it to Coronavirus, others say that voters tested all parties in the polls and hence were not enthused by new poll promises made by competing parties.
The first phase of elections on February 10 saw a voter turnout of 62.43 per cent in 58 assembly seats in western UP while it was 63.47 per cent in 2017 and 61.84 per cent in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. But, Kairana which had earlier hit the headlines because of reported migration due to poor law and order saw a leap from 69.56 to 75.12 per cent voting this time.
As per data, the second phase of polling on 55 Assembly seats on February 14 registered 64.42 per cent vis-a-vis 65.53 per cent five years back and 63.13 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The third phase which saw voting in Karhal Assembly seat from where SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is contesting witnessed a 62.28 percent voting as compared to 62.21 per cent five years back and 59.73 in the last general elections.
The fourth round on February 23 which saw voting in state capital Lucknow among others on 59 seats, saw nearly 61.52 per cent voting as compared to 62.55 per cent in 2017 and 60.3 per cent in 2019.
The fifth-round of poll on 61 seats including that in Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Amethi and Rae Bareli on February 27, witnessed 57.32 per cent voting while it was 58.24 in 2017 and 55.31 in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
For the sixth phase on March 3 which will see voting in the high-profile seat of Gorakhpur Urban from where Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is in the fray, the challenge is to cross the voting percentage of 56.52 in 2017. So is in the last round on March 7, which includes Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency, where the 2017 mark was 59.56 per cent and 57.48 in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.