Lucknow: Around 55 per cent voting was recorded for the first phase of municipal body elections till 5pm on Wednesday amid complaints of EVM malfunctioning and bogus voting in different parts of Uttar Pradesh.

At booth number 58 of Tiwaripur ward in Chakeri in Kanpur, voters said that no matter which button they pressed, votes were being registered for the BJP. They alleged that they complained to the electoral officer, but voting was not stopped.

As soon as the news spread, workers of opposition parties started shouting slogans outside the booth. However, authorities said the returning officer of the booth was immediately removed and EVM was also changed after receiving complaints.

A similar incident was reported from Naubasta area of Kanpur, where voters said that the EVM in booth number 66 people was rigged and the vote was going to BJP despite different buttons being pressed. Soon, protests broke out and police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the crowd.

In Gorakhpur, five women who were allegedly paid to cast bogus votes were detained. The women told reporters that they were paid by a person named Anup, who is still at large. The police refused to comment and said investigations were ongoing.

At ward number 70 in Meerut, many people claimed that their names were missing from the voter’s list while names of those who were no longer alive figured on the list. People alleged that most discrepancies in voters’ list were being reported from Muslim majority areas in the city.

State Election commissioner SK Agarwal, however, said the polls went off peacefully part from minor disturbances. “The polls were peaceful except just one incident reported from Badaun. In Badaun, re-polling has been ordered as few people tried to run away with the ballot boxes. However, they were caught by the police,” he said.

Voting was held in 24 districts on Wednesday for the municipal elections. Around 1.09 crore voters were registered in this phase.