Uttar Pradesh by-polls highlights: The bypolls were necessitated after Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya vacated their Lok Sabha seats after getting elected to the state Legislative Council.
The Uttar Pradesh by-polls being viewed as yet another test for the BJP ahead of the general elections next year, saw 43 per cent of voter turnout in Gorkahpur and 37.39 per cent in Phulpur district, the state election office said. The bypolls were necessitated after Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya vacated their Lok Sabha seats after getting elected to the state Legislative Council.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who cast his “first” vote for Gorakhpur seat said the BJP will win both the bypolls with a big margin. He also termed the SP-BSP alliance as “opportunistic”. Reacting to question on Rahul Gandhi, the UP CM said that wherever the Congress president goes, the grand old party is decimated.
READ: Gorakhpur, Phulpur bye-elections: Yogi Adityanath’s charisma vs SP-BSP combine
While the Mayawati-led BSP has decided to bury its 25-year-old bitter rivalry and extend support to candidates nominated by Akhilesh Yadav-led SP, the Congress is going it alone in both the seats.
Follow UP bypolls highlights here:
achan kunjuMar 11, 2018 at 8:29 pmLet Whoever win the election, but reality is hardly 48 percent cast their vote, majority skipped. So winner cannot simply claim that people are with them. Actually people are frustrated with all existing partiesReply- Mar 11, 2018 at 8:23 pmLow turnout indicates apathy of voters and red flag to anti-people policies of Modi.Reply
- Ashok DhingraMar 11, 2018 at 7:44 pmWhen people are not enthusiastic about election, BJP seems to be losing the ground.Reply
- Mar 11, 2018 at 4:43 pmSome people on this blog openly incite violence and murder and the Islamic Express indirectly supports them.Reply
- Mar 11, 2018 at 1:05 pmI still mean 2-0 in favor of BJP, but why they should wait until 14th march for the results. There must be something wrong.Reply
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Exuding confidence that the BJP would sweep the ongoing Lok Sabha bypolls in the state, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Sunday said, "We have already expanded enough, and in future if any political party wants to join us, it will be definitely deliberated upon. But, today from the UP's point of view, poll alliance of the BJP, Apna Dal (Sonelal) and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) exists. Apart from this, we do not have any other alliance. And, banking on this alliance, we will win 80 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state."
Taking a jibe at the SP-BSP tie-up, the minister said, "Their (SP-BSP) votes will be transferred only when they have enough votes. The votes (of the people) are with us. But, they have only leaders who make statements...The voters of Mayawatiji have deserted the BSP and have reposed their faith in Modiji, Yogi and BJP. We are winning both the Lok Sabha seats, and with wider margin".
-PTI
43% voter turnout was recorded in Gorakhpur and 37.39% in Phulpur bypolls, reported PTI
26.6% voter turnout recorded in Phulpur till 3 pm.
As per latest updates by ANI, 30 per cent turnout was recorded in Gorakhpur and 19 per cent in Phulpur, till 1 pm.
UP Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh casts his vote in Phulpur. Phulpur, once represented by the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, witnessed a saffron surge in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and Maurya won there.
The voting for Gorakhpur and Phulpur constituencies, which began on a dull note, picked up momentum by noon amid tight security, reports news agency PTI. In Gorakhpur parliamentary constituency, there are 970 polling centres and 2,141 polling booths, while in Phulpur, there are 793 polling centres and 2,059 polling booths.
Till 11 am, the voter turnout in Gorakhpur was recorded at 16.80 per cent and 12.20 per cent in Phulpur, as per ANI.
Expressing confidence that BJP would sweep the ongoing Lok Sabha bypolls in the state, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Sunday said the 2014 Lok Sabha record would be repeated by the saffron party, reports PTI. He cast his vote along with family in Phulpur constituency on Sunday. Voting for the bye-elections to Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats commenced today amid tight security.
Meanwhile, members of the UP BJP's youth wing will embark on a nationwide campaign on the occasion B R Ambedkar's birth anniversary on April 14 to eradicate casteism and spread the message of harmony among different sections of the society, reports PTI.
Terming the BSP-SP alliance as 'opportunistic', Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said people would not vote for those who have set aside their rivalry to join hands in the bypolls for the two constituencies. He was talking to mediapersons outside a polling booth after casting his vote for Gorakhpur seat.
Bypolls to Araria Lok Sabha seat and Jehanabad and Bhabhua Assembly seats in Bihar are also underway. It will be the first major test for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar since walking out of the Grand Alliance last year. The key challenge for NDA will be to wrest Araria Lok Sabha seat from RJD, whose candidate Mohammed Taslimuddin defeated BJP’s sitting MP Pradeep Kumar Singh in 2014. Araria had been with NDA since 1996. The contest is mainly between the late RJD MP’s son Sarfaraz Alam and BJP’s Pradip Singh. Follow Bihar bypolls LIVE updates here
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath says BJP will win both Gorakhpur and Phulpur bypolls with massive majority. He said the saffron party will win on the basis of Prime Minister Modi's governance of development. Commenting on 2019 elections, he said the party will emerge victorious in that too.
BJP will win both the by-polls (#Gorakhpur & #Phulpur ) with massive majority & on the basis of PM Modi's governance of development, 2019 election results will also be good for the BJP: UP CM Yogi Adityanath pic.twitter.com/O0TY4VGfU3
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 11, 2018