New Delhi: Around 60.17% of votes have been polled in the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections on Thursday, February 10, estimates say. Technical snags were reported from some places.Polling is being held in 58 assembly seats spread across 11 districts in the western part of the state in the first phase.Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.As many as 623 candidates including 73 women are in the fray in the first phase and around 2.28 crore voters including 1.24 crore men and 1.04 women besides others are eligible to cast their franchise, officials of the state election commission said.Photo: Ismat Ara/The WireThe state ministers whose fate will be decided in the first phase of voting include Shrikant Sharma, Suresh Rana, Sandeep Singh, Kapil Dev Agarwal, Atul Garg and Chowdhury Lakshmi Narain.The first phase covers the Jat-dominated belt of western UP from where farmers had participated actively in the stir against the Centre’s three agricultural laws in the national capital.Photo: Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta/The WireIn 2017, the BJP bagged 53 of the 58 seats, while the Samajwadi Party and the BSP had got two seats each. One seat had gone to the Rashtriya Lok Dal.