Bihar: Counting is underway for the all-important bypolls in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. As per trends, Gorakhpur seems to be falling in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s kitty, but in what may be a setback for the party, it is trailing in the Phulpur Lok Sabha constituency. The Samajwadi Party, which went to polls with the backing of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is leading in Phulpur. In Bihar, the BJP has taken lead in Araria Lok Sabha constituency and Bhabua Assembly constituency. There seems to be a neck and neck fight between the Janata Dal United (JDU) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) where the former took a slight with just over 30 votes but the RJD went past it again.
The bypolls in UP were necessitated after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Yogi Adityanath and Keshav Prasad Maurya were elevated as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister respectively after the party’s victory in state Assembly elections. Meanwhile in Bihar, this is the first electoral battle in Bihar since Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who also heads the JD(U), walked out of the alliance with the RJD and the Congress and joined the BJP-led NDA last year.
In Araria Lok Sabha bypoll, the BJP is leading by a margin of 8979 votes. BJP’s Pradip Singh has won 1,13,169 votes while at RJD’s Sarfaraz Alam is at the second spot with 1,04,190 votes.
The Samajwadi Party has taken a considerable lead of nearly 7000 votes in Phulpur against the BJP. SP’s Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel has won 54,562 votes, while his nearest rival BJP’s Kaushlendra Singh Patel is trailing at the second spot with 47,631 votes.
After the fourth round too, BJP’s Upendra Dutt Shukla has managed to maintain his lead. With 15577 votes, Shukla is at the first spot while SP’s Praveen Nishad is holding the second spot.
Gorakhpur DM Rajeev Rautela is present at the counting centre to monitor the operations. Denying reports that information is being withheld, he said: “Counting of votes is underway. When ARO sends counting figures of any round from the 5 assembly constituencies, it is scrutinised by the RO and two observers scrutinise the counting figures manually and digitally and then sign it. This process takes time.”
The BJP is leading in Araria Lok Sabha constituency and Bhabua Assembly seat. The RJD is leading in Jehanabad Assembly constituency. Read the full list of who is leading and who is trailing here.
Who is leading, who is losing the polls in Uttar Pradesh. Here is the list of leading and trailing candidates in Phulpur and Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
Fourth round of counting is underway in Gorakhpur and it seems the BJP will be able to retain this seat where Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has won the past 5 elections. BJP’s Upendra Dutt Shukla is leading with a considerable margin against his rival from SP Praveen Nishad.
As per the early trends, the BJP seems to have gained in Bihar. However, as Phulpur seems to be slipping away from its hands, looks like the party may suffer a setback in Uttar Pradesh. The bye-elections to the three Lok Sabha seats and three Assembly constituencies are being been touted as a barometer of how the BJP and its allies could perform in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Here is an analysis of the trends so far.
The SP is leading in the second round of counting as well in Phulpur. Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel has got 22, 460 votes so far while BJP’s Kaushalendra Singh Patel has got 21, 402 votes.
In the first round of counting in Phulpur, SP’s Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel got 12383 votes, BJP’s Kaushlendra Singh Patel bagged 9906 votes and Independent candidate Atiq Ahmad won 2570 votes.
RJD has regained its lead over the JDU in Jehanabad after the second round of counting. RJD’s Kumar Krishna Mohan, after falling to the second spot for some time, is again leading against his rival Abhiram Sharma of the JDU.
JDU has taken a slight lead over the RJD in Jehanabad bypolls. As per latest trends, JDU candidate Abhiram Sharma is leading in the polls with a narrow margin of just over a 30 votes. Since the first round of counting on Wednesday, RJD has been leading on the seat. The slight edge of the JDU suggests that the contest may have a nail-biting finish.
Election trends as of now for Assembly constituencies:
Bhabua, Bihar: BJP’s Rinky Rani is leading
Jehanabad, Bihar: RJD’s Kumar Krishna Mohan is leading
Election trends as of now for the three Lok Sabha seats:
Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh: BJP’s Upendra Dutt Shukla is leading
Phulpur, Uttar Pradesh: Samajwadi Party candidate Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel is leading
Araria, Bihar: BJP’s Pradip Singh is leading
Visuals of counting of votes from a counting centre in Pipraich. #GorakhpurByPoll
Samajwadi Party’s Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel is leading by 1437 votes with 7600 votes, BJP’s Kaushlendra Singh Patel 6163 votes after round 3.
After the initial trends going in RJD’s favour in Araria, the BJP has now taken the lead in the Lok Sabha constituency.
Samajwadi Party candidate from Gorakhpur Praveen Kumar Nishad said that he is confident of winning the elections. While the early trends are ruling in BJP’s favour, Nishad levelled allegations of EVM tampering. “I am confident of my victory and that is what people are saying that SP’s grand alliance will win this seat but there is a doubt in everyone’s mind regarding EVM machines. The government can do anything using state administration,” Nishad said.
In trends just emerging, Samajwadi Party candidate Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel is leading in Phulpur by over 2600 votes while the BJP’s Upendra Dutt Shukla is at the second spot.
The counting of postal ballots is over and the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) have been opened in Bihar. So far, the RJD is ahead in Araria Lok Sabha seat and Jehanabad Assembly constituency while the BJP is leading in Bhabua Assembly seat.
BJP’s Upendra Dutt Shukla is leading in Gorakhpur. He is facing a tough fight from Samajwadi Party’s Pravin Nishad and Congress leader Sureetha Kareem. The Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after the resignation of five-time MLA Yogi Adityanath who took over as the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister after the BJP’s victory in 2017 Assembly elections.
BJP leaders Kaushalendra Singh Patel and Upendra Dutt Shukla are leading from Phulpur and Gorakhpur respectively as per early trends. In Bihar, early trends suggest that RJD is leading in Araria Lok Sabha constituency and Jehanabad assembly constituency. BJP is leading in Bhabua in Bihar.
Postal ballots are being counted in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Counting of votes begins for Bihar and Uttar Pradesh bypolls
With an aim to present a united front against the BJP, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party (SP) joined hands in the Gorakhpur and Phulpul bypolls. Adityanath termed the BSP-SP partnership for the bypolls an “unholy alliance”, while Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav had said the polling day will “change and re-write history”.
In Bihar, 57 per cent polling was recorded in the by-election to the Araria Lok Sabha constituency, while in the Bhabua and Jehanabad Assembly constituencies, the voter turnout was 54.03 per cent and 50.06 per cent respectively.
The voter turnout was 47.45 per cent in Gorakhpur and 37.39 per cent in Phulpur in Sunday’s polling. Ten nominees were in the fray from Gorakhpur, while 22 candidates contested from Phulpur.
Counting of votes for the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha bye-elections in Uttar Pradesh will be held today amid tight security arrangements. In Bihar, counting will be held for Araria Lok Sabha seat and Bhabua and Jehanabad Assembly constituencies.
Bureau Report
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