Polling for 10 Lok Sabha constituencies spread over 11 districts of Western Uttar Pradesh, including riot-hit Muzaffarnagar district, was underway today.

"The polling started on a peaceful note amidst tight security arrangements. The polling, which started at 7 AM, will continue till 6 PM", election officials said here. 12 per cent polling was recorded in the first two hours of polling in Gautam Budha Nagar Lok Sabha seat. Long queues of votes were seen in majority of the polling booths in various sectors of Noida.

Ten of the total 80 constituencies where polling is underway in UP include Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Kairana, Aligarh, Bijnor, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Bulandshahar. Muzaffarnagar riots have changed the political equations of the region dominated by Jats and Muslims which form 15 to 40 per cent of the polpulace, with political parties also fielding riot accused as their candidates.