Counting of votes for UP LS by-election today

The counting of votes for Lok Sabha by-election for the two constituencies of Uttar Pradesh, Gorakhpur and Phulpur will begin today.

Tight security arrangements have been made for the counting of ballots in the area and the results are expected to the declared by afternoon.

47.45 percent of voter turnout was recorded in Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency, while Phulpur witnessed a polling percentage of 37.39 percent in the election held on March 11.

The by-polls were necessitated after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya vacated their seats in Gorakhpur and Phulpur, respectively, on taking office.

For Gorakhpur, the key contenders were Upendra Shukla from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Praveen Nishad from the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Surhita Chatterjee Karim from the Congress Party.

Meanwhile, candidates in the fray for the Phulpur seat are Kaushalendra Singh Patel from the BJP, Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel from the SP and Manish Mishra from the Congress Party.

For these by-polls, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the SP have set aside their rivalry to join forces.