Gorakhpur and Phulpur bypoll results latest updates: As Samajwadi Party raced ahead of BJP in both Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha constituencies, party workers of BSP and SP raised 'bua-bhateeja zindabad' slogans.

Dubbed as the arch-rival in the regional political arena, Mayawati and Akhilesh decided to be partners for the ongoing bypolls to counter the BJP in the state. The saffron party had steamrolled SP and BSP in last year's state Assembly election.

In what might seem as a major upset for chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Mayawati-Akhilesh partnership in Gorakhpur has edged past the BJP. According to data given by Election Commission, the Samajwadi Party is ahead of the BJP with 11,9427 votes. The BJP is trailing behind with 10,8829 votes.

After first four rounds of counting in Gorakhpur, District Magistrate Rajiv Rautela told Firstpost that Samajwadi Party is leading with 59,960 votes. Bharatiya Janata Party is close second with 56,945 votes. Congress stands at an abysmal 2,386 votes. The BJP's lead in Gorakhpur is very slender, down to just 1,900 votes. But with no observer to sign the forms, official statistics aren't out yet.

BJP's candidate from Phulpur Kaushlendra Singh Patel spoke to the media and said that early trends do not mean much. "BJP will win with a huge mandate," Patel says.

The latest updates from the Election Commission said that the Samajwadi Party is leading with 12,383 votes in Phulpur Lok Sabha constituency while the BJP is trailing with 9,906 votes.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has taken an early lead in Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency while the Samajwadi Party is leading in Phulpur. In Gorakhpur, a seat represented by Yogi Adityanath for five consecutive terms, the Samajwadi Party has fielded Praveen Kumar Nishad, the son of Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad, as its candidate. Nishad will take on the BJP’s Upendra Shukla and Congress leader Surhita Chatterjee Karim. In Phulpur, the Samajwadi Party has fielded Nagendra Singh Patel, an OBC leader. Patel will contest against BJP candidate and fellow OBC leader Kaushlendra Singh Patel, who has also been Varanasi mayor.

An official of the Election Commission told Firstpost that Akhilesh Yadav-led and backed by Mayawati Samajwadi Party is leading from Phulpur Lok Sabha constituency. According to latest updates, Upendra Dutt Sharma of BJP is leading from Gorakhpur.

Counting has begun for the Phulpur Lok Sabha seat. The main contenders from this crucial constituency are Kaushalendra Singh Patel from the BJP, Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel from SP, Manish Mishra from the Congress

The announcement by the Mayawati led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to support Samajwadi Party’s candidate has made these bypolls very interesting as the results of these polls will decide on future alliance of the arch-rivals. The arrangement between the parties has left BJP in an uneasy position and entire BJP machinery had to do a war like campaigning on both the seats. The direct fight is between SP, BSP and BJP.

The elections see a triangular contest between the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)-backed Samajwadi Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress which chose to fight the elections on its own. The results of the Phulpur and Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypolls will be announced on Wednesday and the results can be significant in light of the 2019 general elections.

The bypolls were necessitated after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya vacated the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats respectively, following their election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.

The BJP, which has an overwhelming majority in the state Assembly, has nothing to lose in terms of number, but the polls can be a precursor to the general elections next year. Moreover, it will also be interesting to see whether Adityanath and Maurya, both stalwarts in their party, can transfer their support base to the new BJP candidates.

However, the stakes are also high for the Opposition after BSP chief Mayawati went out of character and announced support to the Samajwadi Party candidates.

Low voter turnout was recorded at both the constituencies. The polling was Forty-three percent voters cast their mandate in the Gorakhpur parliamentary constituency on Sunday while Phulpur recorded an even lesser 37.39 percent turnout as the crucial bypolls to the two Lok Sabha seats were held peacefully, the state election office said.

In Phulpur, the poorest polling was reported from Allahabad (East) where only 21.65 percent voters turned up to exercise their franchise, followed by Allahabad (West) with 31 percent.

Snags in the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were reported from some places. Polling was held up at Kidwai College in Allahabad (East) for some time due to a technical glitch.

In Gorakhpur, the lowest voter turnout of 33 percent was in Gorakhpur city, and the highest 47 percent in Sahjanwa and Campierganj. Both Chief Minister Adityanath and Maurya claimed victory for the BJP candidates, irrespective of the voter turnout in the two seats.

After casting his vote, a beaming Adityanath told reporters that the "BJP continues to get a groundswell of public support since they are witnessing development, peace and prosperity under its government". He also denied the influence of the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance on the bypoll results.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) has fielded Praveen Nishad in Gorakhpur. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) have extended support to the SP candidate. The Congress is fighting on its own and has named Surahita Kareem as its candidate.

With inputs from agencies


Published Date: Mar 14, 2018 14:53 PM | Updated Date: Mar 14, 2018 15:08 PM