By IANS,
Lucknow : As many as 401 of the 403 legislators of the Uttar Pradesh assembly cast their votes here in the presidential poll Thursday, and the other two voted in New Delhi.
According to the returning officer Pradeep Dubey, two legislators were allowed by the Election Commission of India to vote in the national capital.
The voting started at 10 a.m. and continued till 5 p.m. All legislators, including many first-timers, were excited to cast their vote to elect the next occupant of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The polling venue was the Tilak Hall in the assembly building and the legislators arrived there after showing their identity cards.
Before the polling began, the ballot boxes were brought to the Tilak Hall amidst tight security. After the voting, the ballot boxes were sealed in the presence of central observers. These will be flown to New Delhi by a special aircraft where these will handed over to poll panel officials at parliament.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav could not cast his vote as he is a member of the legislative council, the upper house whose members along with nominated members of both houses are not eligible to vote in the presidential poll.