UP bypolls: It appears Mayawati's support to Akhilesh Yadav bearing fruit!

After 19th round of counting, SP's Praveen Kumar Nishad was leading by 28,737 votes with 2,93,153 votes, BJP's Upendra Dutt Shukla was second with 2,64,416 votes.

Leader of the opposition and Samajwadi Party member Ram Govind Choudhury met Bahujan Samaj Party Chief Mayawati in Lucknow (Image: ANI)

New Delhi: In both Phulpur and Gorakhpur, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is behind Samajwadi Party (SP) which means that Mayawati's recent decision to support Akhilesh Yadav to keep BJP at bay is bearing fruits.

Samajwadi Party's Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel leading by 47,351 with 3,05,172 votes in #Phulpur ByPoll after 28th round of counting. pic.twitter.com/YYMec4kubU

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 14, 2018

#Gorakhpur ByPoll: SP's Praveen Kumar Nishad leads by 28,737 votes with 2,93,153 votes, BJP's Upendra Dutt Shukla second with 2,64,416 votes after 19th round of counting.

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 14, 2018

After 19th round of counting, SP's Praveen Kumar Nishad was leading by 28,737 votes with 2,93,153 votes, BJP's Upendra Dutt Shukla was second with 2,64,416 votes. In both the districts (Gorakhpur and Phulpur), bypolls were held on March 11, Sunday. However, less than 50 % voting was recorded. In Gorakhpur constituency, bypoll was necessitated as the seat was vacated by Yogi Adityanath after taking over as the Chief Minister last year. In Phulpur, bypoll was necessitated after Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya vacated his seat. The Uttar Pradesh bypolls are being seen as a "rehearsal" for the 2019 general election. Winning Gorakhpur seat, in particular, is a matter of prestige for the saffron party as it has been a bastion of now CM Yogi Adityanath who has won from that seat five consecutive times. Interestingly, just before the by-elections in the state, BSP had extended support to arch-rival Samajwadi Party candidates so that BJP loses. YOU MAY ALSO LIKE TO READ OPINION: Naxalism menace in India and the way forward