Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh YadavReuters

The third phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, which took place on Sunday, saw 826 candidates contesting from 69 seats across 12 districts of the state. According to the Election Commission, the polls saw a voter turnout of 61.16 percent. The percentage is expected to cross 63 percent, the EC said.

The districts included — Farrukhabad, Mainpuri, Etawah, Hardoi, Kannauj, Kanpur rural, Kanpur city, Unnao, Lucknow, Barabanki, Auraiyya and Sitapur.

More than 2.41 crore eligible voters, including 1.31 crore men, 1.10 crore women and 1,026 voters from the third gender, were expected to cast their votes. The Election Commission set up 25,606 polling stations at 16,671 centres for the elections in the third phase.

In 2012, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav had won 55 of the 69 seats in the Assembly which makes this election a litmus-test for the party which has seen a split of sorts lately with a public feud between father-son duo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh. Mulayam, who founded the party 25 years ago, has not campaigned this time due to the fallout.

The chief minister's hometown Etawah had the maximum number of candidates at 21 contesting for a single seat while Haidergarh had the minimum number of candidates — three — contesting for a seat. 

Here are the live updates: 

6:46 pm IST: Prateek Yadav condemns controversy over SP feud saying, "My mother has love and affection for entire family. I condemn the controversy which was created by dragging her name. There were differences only in the party and not inside our family."

6:43 pm IST: EC says percentage of voter turnout expected to cross 63 percent.

6:37 pm IST: Election commission says peaceful polling took place in the third phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections

6:02 pm IST: Third phase of polls sees 61.16 percent turnout till 5 pm

5:25 pm IST: Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers clash at Bada Chauraha in Kanpur.

4:45 pm IST: Stone-pelting between BJP-Congress supporters near Chacha Nehru school, Govind Nagar, Kidwai Nagar constituency in Kanpur.

4:08 pm IST: Police resort to lathi charge in Jaswant Nagar after facing a tough time dispersing people enraged due to faulty EVMs and their names missing from the voters' list.

3:38 pm IST: As many as 6176 differently-abled people cast their votes in seven districts in Kanpur, close to 80 percent, which is the highest number ever recorded.

3:15 pm IST: Third phase of polls sees 44 percent turnout till 2 pm

3:06 pm IST: Rahul Gandhi attacks PM Modi while addressing joint rally in Jhansi. He says, "Modi ji will go back to Delhi after the elections are over and will not take Uttar Pradesh's name till 2019."

2:46 pm IST: "I want to tell BJP that it is not the alliance of two families but of two young politicians who want to bring about change. PM talks about blood pressure. Once the election results are out, all BJP leaders will have to get their blood pressure checked," Akhilesh Yadav in Jhansi

2:27 pm IST: Congress Vice-President reaches Jhansi to address joint rally

2:21 pm IST: "There should not be any discrimination based on religion and caste. If the state has a 'kabristan', it should also have a 'shamshaan ghat'. If there is electricity during Ramzan, there should also be electricity during Diwali," PM Modi in Fatehpur

2:09 pm IST: "There was a time when farmers had to face hurdles to get urea; We neem-coated urea and stopped its black marketing," PM Modi in Fatehpur

2:08 pm IST: "We want to provide free gas connections to rural households; We want them to have access to clean fuel," PM Modi in Fatehpur

2:07 pm IST: PM Modi, at the rally, vows to dismiss debt of farmers if BJP comes to power in UP.

2:05 pm IST: "Congress confused people over giving 9/12 cylinders. I appealed to people to give up subsidies so that poor benefits and several gave them up," PM Modi in Fatehpur

1:58 pm IST: Modi attacks Akhilesh saying: "Rapists in the state have freedom and mothers and daughters have to approach the Supreme Court to seek justice. What kind of work is this ?"

1:54 pm IST: "SP is least concerned about improving law and order situation in UP. I urge people to elect a government that would ensure safety of people," PM Modi says

1:53 pm IST: "Why is the policing system so inefficient in UP? Why are complaints not registered? What work culture is it?" PM Modi in Fatehpur

1:50 pm IST: A fake voter, Chitwant Singh, has been taken in police custody in Govind Nagar.

1:48 pm IST: "SP did not respect ideals of Ram Manohar Lohia ji by allying with the Congress," PM Modi says at Fatehpur rally

1:43 pm IST: PM Modi takes a dig at SP-Congress alliance saying: "Both parties thought that they are drowning. So they formed an alliance to save themselves."

1:40 pm IST: Ninety-year-old Munna Lal casts his vote for the 67th time at SN Sen Balika College Mall Road. He came to vote despite having undergone a surgery for hip replacement a week ago.

1:38 pm IST: "Vanvaas of Vikas in Uttar Pradesh must end now; Country is moving ahead at fast pace and so must Uttar Pradesh," PM Modi in Fatehpur

1:36 pm IST: "Would like to recall Sardar Sahab. Had the previous governments implemented his guidelines, fate of our country would have been different," PM Modi in Fatehpur

1:35 pm IST: 101-year-old Nirmala Devi, the oldest resident of Etawah, casts her vote.

1:33 pm IST: 38.96 percent voter turnout in third phase of elections till 1 pm

1:31 pm IST: People take to streets to protest against non-functioning of EVMs in Rail Bazar under Cantonment assembly constituency, reports HT.

1:30 pm IST: Name of Samajwadi Party's Kanpur president Fazal Mehmood is missing from the voter list. He could not vote.

1:23 pm IST: PM Modi pays tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on his birth anniversary while addressing rally in Fatehpur.

1:10 pm IST: Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi address joint rally in several areas of Jhansi

1:08 pm IST: Raj Babbar and Pramod Tiwari address the public in Tiloi.

1:02 pm IST: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address 'Vijay Shankhnad' Rally in Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh.

12:45 pm IST: "Let's be progressive and think about the future," says Dimple Yadav after casting her vote in Saifai while refuting claims of a rift in the Samajwadi Party. She added that SP would form government in UP again.

12:35 pm IST:

12:27 pm IST:

12:22 pm IST:

12:18 pm IST: "Developmental work has been done in UP and Akhilesh will once again be the CM," Mulayam Singh Yadav tells reporters

12:06 pm IST:

12:05 pm IST:

11:53 am IST:

11:53 am IST: Mulayam Singh Yadav to cast his vote in Saifai

11:45 am IST: 24.19 percent voter turnout in third phase of elections till 11 am

11:31 am IST:

11:22 am IST: Phase 3 sees 26.6 percent voting in Kannauj, 29 percent in Sitapur and 20.68 percent in Kanpur till 11 am.

11:12 am IST:

10:52 am IST:

10:30 am IST: 

10:28 am IST: 

10:24 am IST: BJP and SP supporters clashed near Kataiya Bridge in Jaswantnagar constituency. Four people suffered minor injuries. 

10:22 am IST: "There is no conflict within the party. Everyone is united. SP-Congress win will be historic," Prateek Yadav, younger son of Mulayam Singh Yadav, after casting his vote in Saifai.

10:15 am IST: "There is a BJP wave in Uttar Pradesh, BSP and SP are fighting for second and third place," Pankaj Singh, BJP after casting vote in Lucknow.

10:10 am IST: "We were ahead in first two phases and I am confident that we will be ahead in third phase also. Once again Samajwadi Party will be forming the government in alliance with Congress," CM Akhilesh Yadav after casting vote in Saifai.

10:01 am IST: BJP promises Rs 500 crore fund for higher education of children from economically backward class.

10 am IST: Not only clear majority, BJP is winning by absolute majority in Uttar Pradesh: HM Rajnath Singh after casting vote in Lucknow.

9:50 am IST: UP: Stones pelted at Shivpal Yadav's car in Etawah's Jaswantnagar.

9:45 am IST: Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh T Venkatesh cast his vote in Lucknow.

9:29 am IST: 12 percent voting in third phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh till 9 am. 

9:24 am IST: Voter turnout till 9 am --Kanpur Nagar 7.71%, Kannauj 11.65% and Sitapur 11%

9:05 am IST: BSP chief Mayawati arrives to cast her vote in Lucknow. 

8:35 am IST: Mulayam ji's emotional appeal points to the fact that Aparna Yadav is losing, said Rita Bahuguna Joshi, BJP after casting vote in Lucknow. Joshi is contesting against Samajwadi Party's Aparna Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law, from Lucknow Cantt constituency. 

8:30 am IST: Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar, Unnao, Lucknow, Barabanki, and Sitapur going to polls today. 

8:20 am IST: Lucknow: BJP Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi cast his vote in a polling booth in Sherwood Academy. 

8:15 am IST: There is no infighting at all as far as voting is concerned, we are winning 300+ seats: Ramgopal Yadav after casting vote in Saifai.

7:45 am IST: SP candidate Nitin Agarwaal waits as EVM machine in booth number 198 is not working in Hardoi.

7:00 am IST: Voting begins in 12 districts for third phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh

4:00 am IST: Voting is expected to start at 7 am. Almost all arrangements have been made by the EC to ensure smooth polling. 

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