Turnout in bypolls low, speculation on a high
LUCKNOW/GORAKHPUR/ALLAHABAD: Low voter turnout in the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha bypolls on Sunday prompted analysts and political leaders to predict a close fight. They attributed the lack of enthusiasm among voters to the possibility that they are now looking forward to general elections, which are due early next year.
Only 47.45% voters exercised their franchise in Gorakhpur and 37.39% electors did so in Phulpur on Sunday, an election official said. Chief electoral officer, UP, Lakku Venkateshwarlu said the polling was peaceful in the two constituencies.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Gorakhpur had registered 54.64% voter turnout and Phulpur 50.19%, according to Election Commission data. Counting of votes will be taken up on March 14.
The bypolls witnessed a triangular contest involving the ruling BJP, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress. The BSP backed the SP candidates in both constituencies.
Political analyst Prof Badri Narayan said low voter turnout could make this a close fight with the margin of victory remaining quite narrow. “However, it’s tough to say as to which candidate will benefit the most from this,” he added.
Another analyst Manoj Singh said, “The low polling percentage has increased the chances of a close fight. Their (BJP) core voters didn’t step out of their homes, especially in Gorakhpur urban (37.76% turnout), which accounts for a high number of Brahmin and Thakur voters. They failed to take the lead in Campierganj (49.43% turnout), considered a BJP stronghold,” he added.
“A comparatively higher polling percentage in the Dalit and OBC-dominated assembly segments of Gorakhpur rural (45.74%), Pipriach (52.24%) and Sahjanwa (50.07%) could benefit the SP alliance,” he said.
SK Prasad, also an analyst, said, “Usually, voters have a laidback attitude to the by-polls on both the seats (Gorakhpur and Phulpur). The turnout was lower in the urban areas than in the rural ones.” Sanjay Nishad, founder of NISHAD party, and father of Samajwadi Party’s Gorakhpur candidate Praveen Nishad, said, “The big people (upper castes) are well aware of the caste arithmetic. They know that four lakh Nishad voters, two lakh Muslims and other castes have the capability to turn the tide. So, they didn’t spoil their votes, making our side stronger.”
Bahujan Samaj Party district president Ghanshyam Rahi said: “Savarn (upper caste) voters , the BJP vote bank, didn’t reach booths. This benefits us.”
BJP spokesperson Satendra Sinha said, “Low turnout won’t affect our prospects as all Vidha Sabha segments have BJP supporters, who voted for development and in the name of Yogiji.”
Samajwadi Party’s Phulpur candidate Nagendra Singh Patel said the voters did not come out in large numbers as the BJP had failed to keep its ‘achhe din’ promise.
Congress candidate Manish Mishra said, “I feel lack of enthusiasm among BSP workers led to the decline in polling percentage.”
As for the BJP, deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said, “No doubt the voter turnout has dipped but we have got more than 50% of the total votes cast today. We are sure to win this bypoll with a big margin.”
The bypolls were necessitated after chief minister Yogi Adityanath and deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya vacated their Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats on being elected to the state legislative council.
After casting his vote at a polling booth at Purana Gorakhpur, Adityanath flashed the victory sign and said the BJP was getting widespread support.
Adityanath had won Gorakhpur seat in 2014, defeating his nearest rival Rajmati Nishad of the SP by margin of 3.12 lakh votes. Maurya had won the Phulpur seat, defeating his nearest rival Dharamraj Singh Patel of SP by margin of 3.08 lakh votes.
This time, the BJP fielded Kaushalendra Singh Patel from Phulpur and Upendra Dutt Shukla from Gorakhpur against the SP’s Praveen Nishad (Gorakhpur) and Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel (Phulpur).
The Congress nominated Sureetha Kareem for Gorakhpur and Manish Mishra for Phulpur.
Meanwhile, there were complaints of 79 electronic voting machines and 114 voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines malfunctioning at a few booths in both constituencies, but these were replaced immediately, the chief electoral officer said.