BJP's Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi is leading with a margin of 19,552 votes from the Rampur Lok Sabha seat, as per the latest trends. The counting of votes is underway in Rampur amid tight security.
Lodhi is a former SP MLC who had recently joined the saffron party, while the SP has nominated Asim Raja, a close associate of Azam Khan. The Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is not contesting from Rampur.
The Rampur seat was vacated by the party's tallest Muslim leader Azam Khan.
Azamgarh
BJP’s Dinesh Lal Yadav 'Nirahua' is leading from the Azamgarh seat. The seat saw a triangular contest among the BJP’s Nirahua, a Bhojpuri actor-singer, SP's Dharmendra Yadav and BSP's Shah Alam, also known as Guddu Jamali.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate, Shah Alam a.k.a. Guddu Jamali, had already amassed over 1 lakh votes, which has impacted Samajwadi Party's Dharmendra Yadav. Jamali is trailing at third position.
The bypoll in Azamgarh constituency was necessitated after the seat fell vacant following the resignation of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Rampur and Azamgarh have been SP strongholds. The two constituencies voted on June 23, with Azamgarh recording a turnout of 49.43 per cent and Rampur 41.39 per cent.
Over 35 lakh people were eligible to vote in the bypolls to decide the fate of 19 candidates.
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