Moderate to low polling in LS bypolls in UP, Bihar

Gorakhpur sees 43%, Phulpur records 37.39%

Moderate to low polling was recorded on Sunday in the Lok Sabha byelections in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur and Phulpur, and Bihar's Araria, being viewed as yet another test for the BJP ahead of the general elections next year.

While 43% of the voters exercised their franchise in Gorakhpur, where Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath cast his ballot, the turnout in Phulpur was lower at 37.39%, the state election officials said.

Voter turnout in the three by-elections in Bihar on Sunday was relatively poor with around 55% electorate exercising their franchise.

Besides, complaints of EVM malfunctioning poured in from Jehanabad and Bhabua, the two Assembly constituencies where there is a straight contest between the NDA and the Grand Alliance.

"We have received a large number of complaints from Bhabua about non-functional EVMs. We have apprised the Election Commission of it," said the acting president of Bihar Congress, Kaukab Kadri.

Ajay Nayak, the chief electoral officer (CEO) in Bihar, said, "if the complaints are found to be genuine, repolling could be ordered on March 13."

Counting of votes will take place on March 14.

A poll official in Uttar Pradesh said there were complaints of EVM malfunctioning at a few booths, but the machines were promptly replaced without affecting the polling.

The reason behind the lower than expected turnout in the high-stakes polls in UP, the country's electorally most significant state with 80 Lok Sabha seats, was said to be a lack of enthusiasm among voters who are now looking forward to the general elections next year.

The by-polls were necessitated after Adityanath and deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya vacated their Lok Sabha seats after getting elected to the state Legislative Council.

After casting his vote in Gorakhpur, Adityanath said the BJP was getting widespread support. "The people know that development is the only panacea," he told reporters.

Termed by Adityanath as a "rehearsal" for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the bypolls witnessed a triangular contest involving the ruling BJP, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress.

FIR against BJP chief

Meanwhile, polling for Araria Lok Sabha seat in Bihar was peaceful amid reports of polarisation, following an FIR against Bihar BJP president Nityanand Rai for his unsavoury remarks against RJD nominee Sarfaraz Alam.

The state BJP chief had reportedly told voters in Araria that in case the RJD candidate wins, Araria may become the hub for ISI activities.

BJP's Pradeep Singh is the party nominee from Araria against Sarfarz, the son of former RJD MP Mohammad Taslimuudin, whose untimely death led to the bypoll.

Sarfaraz quit as a JD(U) MLA before becoming the RJD candidate from his father's fiefdom.

Taslimuddin had defeated Pradeep Singh by over 1.5 lakh votes during 2014 Lok Sabha elections despite the presence of Modi wave.

The Araria constituency witnessed 56% on Sunday, while in Jehanabad and Bhabua it was 50% and 54% respectively.

The byelections in the three constituencies - one Lok Sabha and two Assembly seats - in Bihar assume significance as this is the first-ever poll which has been held after Nitish Kumar switched sides and formed a government with the help of BJP-led NDA after dumping his previous partners RJD and the Congress in July 2017.