Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypoll result LIVE: Prestige battle for Yogi Adityanath

Bypoll was held for the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat on March 11. The constituency had fell vacant last year following Yogi Adityanath's resignation as the Lok Sabha MP from this seat after he was made the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

A total of 47 per cent polling was recorded in Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypoll. The by-election generated lot of interest with many experts viewing it as a rehearsal for 2019 Lok Sabha elections, particularly in Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP had swept 2014 Lok Sabha polls in the state winning 71 seats on its own while its alliance partner Apna Dal had won two. Of the other seven seats, five went to Mulayam Singh Yadav family. The rest two were won by Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

PARTIES AND CANDIDATES

There are 10 candidates in the fray in Gorakhpur Lok Sabha by-election. But it was triangular fight at Gorakhpur between the BJP, SP-BSP and the Congress.

Gorakhpur has been a BJP seat for nearly three decades but the SP and BJP joined hands this time to spring a surprise. The Congress put up its own candidate.

The key candidates in Gorakhpur bypoll are BJP's Upendra Shukla, Congress' Suhita Chatterjee Kareem and Samajwadi Party's Praveen Nishad. The SP also stitched alliance with the Peace Party and NISHAD party. Nishad is the leader of NISHAD party, which is headed by his father Sanjay Nishad.

PRESTIGE BATTLE FOR YOGI

Winning Gorakhpur bypoll is a matter of prestige for UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is also the chief priest of the Gorakhnath mutt. The Gorakhpur seat has been with the Gorakhpur mutt since 1989.

Yogi Adityanath represented Gorakhpur for five consecutive terms in the Lok Sabha. Yogi Adhityanath had secured over 50 per cent votes in the last three elections. He campaigned extensively for Updendra Shukla, who was long considered rival in the BJP, for Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypoll.

LIVE UPDATES:

• Counting for the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypoll to begin today.

Also read:

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