Counting is on for bye-polls at three Lok Sabha and two Assembly seats in UP and Bihar that were held on Sunday.
2.20 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee congratulates Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati. “The beginning of the end has started,” says Banerjee.
Great victory. Congratulations to Mayawati Ji and @yadavakhilesh Ji for #UPByPolls The beginning of the end has started
1.59 pm: In Gorakhpur, the Samajwadi Party’s lead over the BJP is now over 19,200 votes. After 14 rounds of counting, the SP’s Praveen Kumar Nishad has 2,12,061 votes, ANI reports.
#Gorakhpur ByPoll: SP’s Praveen Kumar Nishad leading with 2,12,061 votes, BJP’s Upendra Dutt Shukla second with 1,92,860 votes after 14th round of counting.
1.54 pm: Samajwadi Party workers are shouting “Bua-Bhateeja Zindabad” slogans, referring to Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav, during their celebrations in Lucknow, ANI reports. Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party has supported the candidates of Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party in the bye-elections.
SP workers celebrate in Lucknow as trends show their candidates leading in Gorakhpur & Phulpur Lok Sabha by-polls, raise, ‘Bhua-Bhateeja zindabad’ slogans. pic.twitter.com/BTjievOjTL
1.52 pm: The Bharatiya Janata Party is leading in Bhabua with 40,501 votes, while the Rashtriya Janata Dal is ahead in Jehanabad with 52,609 votes, ANI reports.
#Bihar Assembly by-poll: BJP leading in Bhabua with 40,501 votes, RJD leading in Jehanabad with 52,609 votes.
1.48 pm: The Rashtriya Janata Dal continues to lead in Araria in Bihar. The party now has 3,33,050 votes, with the BJP trailing by over 23,000 votes, ANI reports.
#Araria Lok Sabha by-poll: RJD leading by 23,187 with 3,33,050 votes, BJP trailing with 3,09,863 votes.
1.47 pm: After 15 rounds of counting, Samajwadi Party has 1,67,008 votes in Phulpur constituency of Uttar Pradesh, ANI reports. The BJP has 1,44,166 votes.
#PhulpurByPoll: Samajwadi Party’s Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel leading by 22,842 with 1,67,008 votes, BJP’s Kaushlendra Singh Patel second with 1,44,166 votes after 15th round of counting.
1.41 pm: Workers of Samajwadi Party begin celebrations in Lucknow, ANI reports. The party is leading in both Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh that went to bye-polls on Sunday.
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party workers play with gulal & celebrate as trends show their candidates leading in #Phulpur & #Gorakhpur by polls. pic.twitter.com/GNrxzdTzPq
1.39 pm: Fourteen rounds of counting are over in Phulpur. Samajwadi Party’s Nagendra Singh Patel is now leading by 20,495 votes, PTI reports.
1.37 pm: “People of Gorakhpur and Phulpur have given a result that the entire country was waiting for,” Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav tells NDTV.
1.27 pm: “I do not agree that the SP-BSP tie-up has worked out,” Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut tells ANI. “I believe Lord Ram turned against you [BJP] the day you laid the red carpet for a leader from the SP.” This is an apparent reference to Naresh Agarwal, who joined the BJP on Monday.
Main ye nahi maanta ke SP-BSP gath-bandhan ne kaam kiya, main maanta hu ke prabhu Shri Ram ki sabse zyada ninda karne wale SP ke neta ke liye aapne jis din red carpet daala usi din prabhu Shri Ram bhi aapke khilaf hogaye: Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena, on UP & Bihar Lok Sabha by-polls pic.twitter.com/y4ikoPbZhN
1.26 pm: “People have spoken against the anti-farmer, anti-youth and anti-women policies of the [BJP] government,” Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia tells ANI. “It is very clear that BJP is being shown the door by the people.”
1.23 pm: In Gorakhpur, the Samajwadi Party’s lead is now nearly 14,000 votes. After 11 rounds of counting, SP candidate Praveen Kumar Nishad has 1,63,941 votes, ANI reports.
#Gorakhpur ByPoll: SP’s Praveen Kumar Nishad leading with 1,63,941 votes, BJP’s Upendra Dutt Shukla second with 1,50,062 votes after 11th round of counting.
1.19 pm: After the eighth round of counting in Bhabua in Bihar, the Bharatiya Janata Party leads with 19,738 votes, ANI reports. In Jehanabad, the Rashtriya Janata Dal is ahead after 10 rounds.
#BiharByPoll: BJP leading in Bhabua after 8th round of counting with 19,738 votes. RJD leading in Jehanabad after 10th round of counting with 29,551 votes.
1.18 pm: In Uttar Pradesh’s Phulpur seat, Samajwadi Party candidate Nagendra Singh Patel has now widened his lead by 15,713 votes after the 11th round of counting, PTI reported.
1.16 pm: In Bihar’s Araria, Rashtriya Janata Dal leads with 2,57,108 votes against Bharatiya Janata Party’s 2,44,957, according to ANI.
#Araria Lok Sabha: RJD leading with 257108 votes, BJP second with 244957 votes #BiharByPoll pic.twitter.com/ECB7SyZlhH
1.04 pm: Samajwadi Party’s Praveen Kumar Nishad is leading by 10,598 votes after eight rounds of voting in Gorakhpur, according to ANI. He has 1,19,427 votes while Bharatiya Janata Party’s Upendra Dutt Shukla is second with 1,08,829 votes.
#Gorakhpur ByPoll: SP’s Praveen Kumar Nishad leading with a margin of 10,598 with 1,19,427 votes, BJP’s Upendra Dutt Shukla second with 1,08,829 votes after eighth round of counting.
