UP by-polls: 43 percent voter turnout recorded in Gorakhpur till 5 pm

Voter turnout in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency, at 5 pm was recorded to be 43 percent, while Phulpur witnessed a polling percentage of 37.39 percent.

The voting for the Lok Sabha by-elections for two constituencies of Uttar Pradesh, Gorakhpur and Phulpur, began on Sunday morning.

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 are 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.

The results will be declared on March 14.