57% turnout in poll last-phase, but Kashi clocks marginal dip

LUCKNOW: The seventh and last leg of Lok Sabha election passed off peacefully with average voting percentage inching up by 2% in 13 parliamentary seats which went to poll on Sunday. The average poll percentage recorded this year was 56.84% as against 54.96% recorded in 2014.
PM Narendra Modi’s constituency Varanasi clocked a marginal dip in turnout from 58.25% in 2014 to 58.05% this year.Modi is being challenged by BSP-backed SP candidate Shalini Yadav and Ajay Rai of Congress. The dip in poll percentage in Varanasi came about despite Modi’s campaign blitz that included a 7km roadshow and BJP launching a special drive to reach out to voters at their doorstep.

Similar was the case with Chandauli — the seat contested by state BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey —where polling percentage dipped from 58.70% in 2014 to 57.26% this year. Pandey is up against BSP-backed SP candidate Sanjay Chauhan.
The Bansgaon parliamentary seat in Gorakhpur, saw a 5% spurt in poll percentage from 49.86% in 2014 to 55% — the highest percentage rise so far. The seat was last won by BJP's Kamlesh Paswan, who is again in the fray and up against Sadal Prasad of BSP and Bala Krishna of Congress.
The highest poll percentage of 62.04% was recorded in Maharajganj where BJP’s Pankaj Chaudhary is pitted against Akhilesh Singh of Samajwadi Party and Supriya Shrinate of Congress. In 2014, the seat clocked 60.84% turnout.
The high-profile Gorakhpur seat, home turf of CM Yogi Adityanath too saw a jump in polling percentage from 54.65% in 2014 to 57.38% this year. BJP had lost the seat in 2018 by-elections to SP. This time, BJP fielded Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan who was up against BSP-backed SP candidate Rambhual Nishad and Congress’ Madhusudan Tripathi.
Likewise, in Ghazipur, from where BJP candidate and Union minister Manoj Sinha is in fray against BSP’s Afzal Ansari — brother of jailed mafia-turned politician Mukhtar Ansari — and Ajit Pratap Kushwaha of Congress, turnout shot up from around 55% in 2014 to 58.10%.
In Mirzapur, where BJP's ally and Apna Dal (Sonelal) convener Anupriya Patel is in fray also saw a jump of around 2% from 58.5% to just over 60.20%. There was a marginal increase from 54.16% in 2014 to 54.29% in Robertsganj seat where Apna Dal (Sonelal) had fielded Pakuri Lal Kol, who is up against Bhai Lal of SP and Bhagwati Prasad Chaudhary of Congress.
The Salempur seat also recorded a jump of more than 3 per cent from 51.51% in 2014 to 54.60% this year. The seat is being contested by Ravinder of BJP, who’s pitted against BSP's Kushwaha and Rajesh Mishra of Congress.
So is the case in Deoria, where polling percentage registered a jump of more than three percent from 53.05% in 2014 to 56.24% this year. BJP replaced its sitting MP Kalraj Mishra from the seat and had fielded former UP BJP chief Ramapati Ram Tripathi, who was up against Binod Jaiswal of BSP and Niyaz Ahmad of Congress. The Ghosi seat, which is being contested by sitting BJP MP Harinarayan Rajbhar, recorded a marginal increase from 55.04% in 2014 to 56.90% this year. Rajbhar was repeated by BJP after SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar turned down saffron party offer to contest the seat on BJP symbol. Harinarayan was up against Atul Singh of BSP and Bala Krishna of Congress.