Uttar Pradesh: In a major embarrassment to Election Commission of India, Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli’s name appeared in Gorakhpur By-polls voter list and a voter slip was also issued in his name.

The voter slip, which making rounds on social media prompted District Magistrate and chief election officer Rajeev Rautela to order SDM Pankaj Srivastav and Tehseeldar of Sahjanwa, to initiate a probe on the matter.

Voting for bypolls to Lok Sabha seats of Phulpur and Gorakhpur, a stronghold of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, will be held tomorrow.  The polls are set to hold a triangular contest after Mayawati-led BSP extended support to Samajwadi Party to take on the BJP, while the Congress joined the fray on its own.

The outcome of the bye-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, which had trounced  them in the last general and assembly elections.




There are 10 candidates in the fray from Gorakhpur, while there are 22 candidates contesting from Phulpur.

Kohli, who has moved to Mumbai with his wife Anushka; has a voter ID of his Delhi address, therefore; such an incident can be seen as a major lapse on the Election Commission’s end.