Lok Sabha bypolls: Voting underway in UP's Azamgarh, Rampur; 19 candidates in fray
Elections | June 23, 2022 13:53 ISTBoth Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha seats are considered the bastions of the Opposition Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.
Both Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha seats are considered the bastions of the Opposition Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Friday said that the Election Commission will take a call on bypolls to one Lok Sabha and 64 assembly seats on September 29 after going through inputs provided by poll officials and chief secretaries of the states concerned.
The BJP suffered another setback in Uttar Pradesh after the recent losses in Gorakhpur and Phulpur parliamentary bypolls as the RLD, backed by the SP, BSP and Congress, snatched the prestigious Kairana Lok Sabha seat from the saffron party.
In UP, the outcome of the Kairana bye-election will show if the ruling BJP manages to break its losing streak this year in Lok Sabha bypolls held in the state previously or hands over a hat-trick to the opposition.
The commission has announced re-poll in 73 polling stations in Uttar Pradesh's Kairana, 49 polling stations in Maharashtra's Bhandara-Gondia and one polling station in Nagaland, after VVPAT machines developed snags during yesterday's Lok Sabha bypolls.
Election Commission termed as "exaggerated projection of reality" reports of 'large scale' failure of EVMs during Lok Sabha and assembly bypolls in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra and said adequate number of reserve machines are provided for any eventuality.
Polling to four Lok Sabha seats, including the politically-crucial Kairana in Uttar Pradesh, is currently underway, and will conclude at 6 pm.
Even as the results from Monday's polling cannot be deemed as an indicator for 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the political pundits will be watching it closely.
Polling to four Lok Sabha seats, including the politically-crucial Kairana in Uttar Pradesh, in currently underway, and will conclude at 6 pm. The by-elections for four Lok Sabha seats in three states – Kairana (Uttar Pradesh), Palghar (Maharashtra
The number of constituencies going to polls makes it one of the largest such exercises in recent times. Even as the results from Monday's polling cannot be deemed as an indicator for 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the political pundits will be watching it closely.
The Election Commission is set to hold bypolls for four Lok Sabha seats in three states and 10 Assembly constituencies in nine states today.
"If you point the finger, people of western UP know how to break it," Chaudhary said during a poll rally in support of Opposition's joint candidate - Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Tabassum Begum.
The BJP is trying hard to retain all three Lok Sabha seats to send a clear message to the opposition that the drubbing in the Gorakhpur and Phulpur bypolls was a thing of the past.
The minister's statement came days after the Bharatiya Janata Party suffered a double jolt as it was trounced in the Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha by-polls for the Gorakhpur and Phulpur and in Bihar's Araria.
With the latest drubbings, BJP has dropped to just 274 in the lower house. However, along with NDA allies, the party has a big majority in the Lok Sabha, making it necessary for it to keep them happy.
The BJP has continued its unique record of losing all by-elections on Lok Sabha seats vacated after party's massive victory in 2014 parliamentary elections where it had won 282 seats.
The outcome of the by-election will be crucial, as a success for the SP-BSP experiment could pave the way for the two major players in Uttar Pradesh to tie up in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to counter the BJP.
The bypolls were necessitated after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya vacated the Gorakhpur and Phulpur seats respectively, following their election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.
BSP's local unit will hold a meeting 11 am to decide on supporting SP's candidate Engineer Praveen Nishad for Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypolls, to be held on March 11.
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