Uttar Pradesh, Bihar Bypolls Highlights: 43% turnout in Gorakhpur, 37.39% in Phulpur

Voting for the Lok Sabha by-polls is being held in Uttar Pradesh (UP) CM Yogi Adityanath's home district Gorakhpur and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya's constituency Phulpur.

After losing by-elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh by-polls have become a matter of great prestige for the BJP, that recently won big in Northeast Assembly elections.

The by-polls in UP will also be crucial for the new SP-BSP pre-poll arrangement. BSP has decided not to fight the by-elections and asked it's party voters to vote to defeat the BJP.

Apart from UP, by-polls are also being held in Bihar's Araria Lok Sabha seat and two other assembly seats, the first litmus test for CM Nitish Kumar after joining hands with BJP.

Here are the live updates:

# Uttar Pradesh, Bihar Bypolls: 43% polling in Gorakhpur, 37.39% in Phulpur

# Phulpur ByPoll: Voter turnout till 5 pm 38%.

# Voting continues for Phulpur Lok Sabha seat by-poll.

Voting continues for #Phulpur Lok Sabha seat by-poll. pic.twitter.com/UKCAWnf3uv

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 11, 2018

# Phulpur ByPoll: Voter turnout till 3 pm 26.6%

# UP Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh casts his vote in Phulpur

#PhulpurByPoll: UP Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh casts his vote in Phulpur. pic.twitter.com/psu1DFYxmA

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 11, 2018

# Araria by-poll: An elderly woman casts her vote with the help of family members.

#Araria by-poll: An elderly woman casts her vote with the help of family members. #Bihar pic.twitter.com/VB2l7yVTwS

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2018

# Bihar: 31.25% voter turnout recorded in Araria Lok Sabha by-poll & 24.5% in Bhabua & 28.6% in Jehanabad assembly by-polls till 12 noon

# UP by-polls: 16.80% voter turnout recorded in Gorakhpur & 12.20% in Phulpur, till 11 am.

# Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla cast his vote in Gorakhpur

#GorakhpurByPoll : Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla cast his vote in Gorakhpur pic.twitter.com/IFgo0rejTf

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 11, 2018

# Jehanabad (Bihar) Assembly By-Poll: People queue up at a polling station in the area.

Jehanabad Assembly By-Poll: People queue up at a polling station in the area. #Bihar pic.twitter.com/1BBvWiptq5

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2018

# BJP will win both the by-polls with massive majority & on the basis of PM Modi's governance of development, 2019 election results will also be good for the BJP: UP CM Yogi Adityanath

# Voting underway in Gorakhpur.

Gorakhpur: Visuals from a polling station as voting begins. pic.twitter.com/CsnvXiekvw

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 11, 2018

# Araria: Complaint lodged against Bihar BJP state President Nityanand Rai' on charges of violating model code of conduct for his comment stating ' If Sarfaraz Alam (RJD candidate) wins the bypoll then Araria will become the hub of ISI.

Gorakhpur: Visuals from a polling station as voting begins. pic.twitter.com/CsnvXiekvw

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 11, 2018

# Gorakhpur: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath casts his vote for #GorakhpurByPoll at a polling station, says 'For development and good governance, BJP is necessary.'

Gorakhpur: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at a polling station to cast his vote for Lok Sabha by-election. pic.twitter.com/5eFWfZMuEy

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 11, 2018