Bypoll Results: SP wins Gorakhpur, Phulpur; RJD retains Araria

Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah reacts to Lok Sabha bypoll trends

Even "a partial unity" among opposition parties is enough to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former central minister Sharad Yadav said on Wednesday. "The government will go even if there is a partial unity among the opposition parties," Yadav told the India Today news channel. He was commenting on the Lok Sabha by-election results from Uttar Pradesh, where the Samajwadi Party supported by BSP has taken big leads over BJP in both the Gorakhpur and Phulpur constituencies.

Samajwadi Party candidate Pravin Kumar Nishad now leads BJP’s Upendra Dutt Shukla by over 26,000 votes in Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypoll

BJP’s Upendra Dutt Shukla cuts Samajwadi Party candidate Pravin Kumar Nishad’s lead from over 23,000 votes to over 14,000 votes in Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypoll after 17 rounds of counting; counting continues

Samajwadi Party candidate Pravin Kumar Nishad leads BJP’s Upendra Dutt Shukla by over 23,000 votes in Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypoll

RJD’s Sarfaraz Alam leads over BJP's Pradeep Kumar Singh by over 23,000 votes in bypoll to Araria Lok Sabha seat in Bihar

SP ahead by 19,000 votes in Gorakhpur and by 22,000 votes in Phulpur Lok Sabha bypolls in Uttar Pradesh. Gorakhpur is home ground of CM Yogi Adityanath; Phulpur of Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya

RJD’s Sarfaraz Alam leads over BJP's Pradeep Kumar Singh by over 4,000 votes in bypoll to Araria Lok Sabha seat in Bihar

Samajwadi Party's Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel now leads by over 15,000 votes over BJP's Kaushlendra Singh Patel after 11 rounds of counting in Phulpur, reports NDTV

SP now leads by over 9,000 votes after 7 rounds of counting in Gorakhpur, reports Gorakhpur DM Rajiv Routela; many rounds of counting to go

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya had won the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats respectively, by over 3 lakh votes each in 2014

BJP is leading by 6,605 votes after the fifth round of counting in Araria Lok Sabha bypoll, Bihar, reports ABP News

SP now leads by over 4,000 votes after 5 rounds in Gorakhpur, says Gorakhpur DM Rajiv Routela. TV News shows BSP and SP supporters celebrating in both Gorakhpur and Phulpur; many rounds of counting to go

Party workers of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party are raising slogans of “"Bua Bhatija Zindabad" in Phulpur, with reference to Samajwadi President Akhilesh Yadav calling BSP supremo Mayawati his “bua” (aunt). The SP candidate, supported by the BSP, is leading by over 14,000 votes over the BJP candidate in the Phulpur Lok Sabha bypoll

Samajwadi Party leads in Phulpur Lok Sabha seat bypoll by over 14,000 votes after 10th round of counting. SP's lead has been steadily increasing all through the morning

BJP candidate is ahead by over 19,000 votes in Bhabua assembly seat bypoll and RJD looks set to win Jahanabad assembly bypoll with a lead of over 29,000 votes over the JD(U) candidate

Close fight in Araria Lok Sabha seat in Bihar as BJP takes the lead over RJD again after 10 rounds

The UP state assembly has been adjourned till 12.20 pm following a ruckus over media being kept out of counting centre in Gorakhpur, reports Indian Express

BJP candidates are at present trailing in all three Lok Sabha seats which went to bypolls—Gorakhpur and Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh and Araria in Bihar

ABP News reports that Samajwadi Party is presently ahead in 4/5 assembly segments in Gorakhpur—Campiyarganj, Gorakhpur Rural, Sahajanwa and Pipraich. The BJP is presently leading only in Gorakhpur Urban

ABP News reports Samajwadi candidate leading by over 1,500 votes in Gorakhpur after third round of counting. Gorakhpur is the home ground of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Many rounds of counting to go.

Confusion continues in Gorakhpur with media reports saying Samajwadi Party is ahead by 24 votes after the second round of counting; however, the same reports say 13 rounds of counting are completed

After further rounds of counting, Samajwadi Party candidate Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel’s leads by over 8,000 votes over BJP candidate Kaushlendra Singh Patel in the urban seat of Phulpur in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh

Nitish losing in Lalu-Nitish battle in Jahanabad assembly bypoll in Bihar. ABP reports RJD leading by a huge margin of 15,000 votes

Out of 5 assembly seats in Gorakhpur, Samajwadi Party is leading in 3 and BJP only in 2. Result of only first round of counting announced, in which BJP is leading. But reports say fourth round of counting is underway.

BJP's Pradeep Kumar Singh is leading by over 4,000 votes in bypoll to Araria Lok Sabha seat in Bihar; RJD’s Sarfaraz Alam trails

At this point in counting, NDA candidates are ahead in all three seats—Araria Lok Sabha and Jahanabad and Bhabua assembly seats—in Bihar; RJD trails

After further rounds of counting, Samajwadi Party candidate Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel’s lead has narrowed to about 1,000 votes over BJP candidate Kaushlendra Singh Patel in the urban seat of Phulpur in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh

RJD candidate Sarfaraz Alam now leads by 1,200 votes over his BJP rival in the bypoll to Araria Lok Sabha seat

The Samajwadi Party candidate Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel has extended his lead to 3,371 votes over BJP candidate Kaushlendra Singh Patel in the urban seat of Phulpur in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh

BJP leads in Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat; however, initial trends show BJP trailing SP in rural assembly segments; BJP had won all assembly segments of Gorakhpur in the assembly polls of 2017.

The standing of Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya lies at stake as Samajwadi Party takes the lead in the Phulpur Lok Sabha bypolls

ABP News reports that BJP’s Upendra Shukla is ahead by 3,000 votes in Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypoll.

ABP News reports that the Samajwadi Party candidate has now taken the lead in Phulpur Lok Sabha seat

Campaign highlights for bypolls to Gorakhpur, Phulpur and Araria Lok Sabha seats and Jahanabad and Bhabua assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar—in pictures

ABP News reports that BJP is leading in both Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh

ABP News reports that RJD is leading in Araria Lok Sabha and Jahanabad assembly seats. BJP is ahead in Bhabua assembly seat

Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh are both held by the BJP. Araria Lok Sabha and Jahanabad assembly seat in Bihar are held by RJD and BJP at present holds the Bhabua seat

Poor polling percentage had been recorded in the bypolls for the Lok Sabha seats of Gorakhpur and Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh on March 11, according to Election Commission officials. About 43% of voters had exercised their franchise in Gorakhpur when official voting hours ended at 5 pm, while this was just 38% for the urban Phulpur seat in Allahabad.

This is the first electoral contest in Bihar since Nitish Kumar dissolved the RJD-JDU-Congress Mahagathbandhan government and joined with the BJP to reform the government in Bihar. Stakes are high for the JD(U) candidate in Jahanabad and BJP candidates in Araria and Bhabua. Losses in any of these seats will hurt the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government.

In a blow to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, a legislator of his party Janata Dal-United Jokihat MLA Sarfaraz Alam resigned and fought the Araria Lok Sabha bypoll, vacated following the death of his father Mohammad Taslimuddin, on an RJD ticket. Congress and Hindustani Awam Morcha of Jitan Ram Manjhi are supporting the RJD candidates in both Araria and Jahanabad assembly bypoll. The BJP has fielded Pradeep Kumar Singh in Araria.

In the Phulpur seat of Allahabad, which was represented by Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, BJP has fielded Kaushlendra Singh Patel who is pitted against Nagendra Singh Patel of the SP. The BSP here too is supporting the SP candidate. The Congress has fielded Manish Mishra as its candidate..

BJP has put up Upendra Dutt Shukla as its candidate in this Lok Sabha seat long held by Yogi Adityanath before he vacated it after becoming chief minister. The Samajwadi Party has fielded Praveen Nishad in Gorakhpur. The Bahujan Samaj Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal have extended their support to the SP candidate. Congress is fighting on its own and has named Suritha Kareem as its candidate.

Early on in the contest, we reported that SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has stitched together alliances with small parties ahead of bypolls to Phulpur and Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seats. With BSP sitting it out, the bypolls are shaping up as a BJP vs SP contest. Then came the political earthquake, when Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party extended support to SP candidates. The BSP-SP alliance could change the contours of national politics.

Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and Araria Lok Sabha seat in Bihar saw voting in bypolls on March 11. Jahanabad and Bhabua assembly seats in Bihar also saw bypolls. Counting of postal votes has begun in the constituencies. We bring you live results as they come in today, March 14.