Arbind Pushkar and Geetam, activists of BSP said, "BSP voters came out in large numbers despite cold and wet conditions to make sure Bahenji returns with clear majority." After a sluggish start in the first session, voter turn out was appreciable in the post-lunch session, they said.

Political pundits however were of the opinion that a higher voter turn out was indicative of the fierce contest which till the end was likely to remain four-cornered, if not five or six-cornered in some constituencies. "In the event of vote banks being fragmented in three, the party with the most loyal following and committed voters always stands to benefit the most, and we all know Mayawati's silent but solid pockets of influence. Do not be misled by the hype and shrill propaganda, its the hard-toiling and quiet "ants" that will have the last laugh, as the grasshoppers will be left in the lurch," commented political commentator Paras Nath Choudhary, on phone from Ghaziabad.

The poll managers of different parties, sat late night discussing the repercussions of a higher voter turn out. "These elections have assumed significance as the future of the young brigade of leaders is at stake. Also parties are engaged in increasing their tallies as president's election are due this summer. Many politicians see UP elections as a run-up to the Lok Sabha poll. If the Congress improves its performance from 22 to 70 or 80, it will be a big boost to Manmohan Singh government in New Delhi. If Rahul, Priyanka and Sonia's combined onslaught against Mayawati fails to move the voters, the writing on the wall would not require a microscope to read. More than the Bhartiya Janata Party which at the moment is in a disarray for so many reasons, it is the future of the star sons Akhilesh Yadav, Pankaj Singh (Raj Nath Singh's son), Kalyan Singh's son Rajvir, and of course Rahul Gandhi," observes activist Shravan Kumar Singh in Agra.

Congress candidates in Agra Sumit Bibhav and Nazeer Ahmed see the high voter turn out as a hopeful sign for the Congress. "For sure the young voters have responded enthusiastically to Rahul Gandhi's appeal to vote Congress for UP's accelerated development," said Sumit.

But Anna Hazare followers take the credit saying their campaign has woken up the voters who seem determined to arrest the rot. "The Anna impact is visible everywhere, parties have been a little more careful in fielding quite a few new and clean faces, although caste continues to remain the ultimate qualification. The candidates with criminal past have been identified and will most certainly feel the heat of the campaign," according to Naresh Paras, a human rights activist.

BJP leaders on the other hand claimed their loyal supporters came out in full force to cast their votes. "You will see tables turning," promises young BJP leader Deepak Khare, a corporator in Agra.

At the administrative level, the higher turn out in the first round has prompted poll managers to work on logistics to cope with the additional pressure this might place on them. An official not wanting to be identified confided that in the western districts the turn out could touch 70%, given the kind of aggressive campaigning going on in the rural hinterland. "The slumbering juggernaut is stirring up. Whoever loses UP will be the gainer as the winds of change are clearly sweeping and there is renewed expectation of doing one better than Bihar and Gujarat," according to a development functionary Subhash Jha.

Engineering student Raghav wonders why UP can not be a front runner, with enough resources in terms of manpower and physical assets. "The fact is that the state has never been mobilized on the slogan of development. In previous elections caste, religion, regionalism etc have been used as emotional ploys by politicians. But, in this election, they are at least talking of speedy development of computers, connectivity… And, voters are demanding to know what individual candidates would deliver if they won. A degree of raised political consciousness is clearly discernible," says political science student Narendra Varun.