New Delhi: The voting for the by-elections across nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh have concluded and all eyes are on the exit polls that are underway. In initial projections, the 2024 JVC and Matrize exit polls forecast the BJP-led NDA winning over Samajwadi Party. As per the Matrize, BJP-led NDA is winning on seven seats whereas Samajwadi Party is believed to be cruising ahead on two seats. The JVC exit poll indicated that the BJP will win six out of the nine seats in UP by-elections. The projections are a huge boost for UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Polling to the nine seats started at 7 am. Voting was carried out in constituencies including Ghaziabad, Phulpur, Meerapur, Khair, Katehari, Karhal, Kundarki, and Manjhawa.
Voter turnout did not cross 60% mark
News agency PTI reported that polling in byelections to the Legislative Assembly seats in UP gained some momentum after a slow start on Wednesday, but the turnout across constituencies did not cross the 60-per cent mark. Ghaziabad logged only 33 per cent of voting. In the 2022 Assembly polls, the overall turnout was 61.03 per cent.
On Wednesday during the polling, the Samajwadi Party lodged complaints about voter suppression by the police at some booths. After this, the Election Commission suspended several police personnel in Kanpur and Muzaffarnagar and some were taken off poll duty. During the voting, the BJP raised concerns about verification of identity for burqa-clad women.
Why 8 seats fell vacant?
Eight seats became vacant after the sitting MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha. Voting was held in Sisamau because of the disqualification of Samajwadi Party legislator Irfan Solanki after he was convicted in a criminal case.
As many as 90 candidates are in the fray. The outcome of the byelections are crucial as it is an acid test for both the BJP and the SP after the Lok Sabha elections. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the SP and Congress joined hands and bagged 43 out of the 80 seats in the state. The BJP could grab only 33 seats. SP won 37 seats while Congress secured 6.
The UP assembly by-election is being considered as a semi-final before the state assembly elections to be held in 2027.
