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Voting underway in the Gorakhpur-Faizabad Teachers’ MLC election, where 35.07% turnout was recorded by noon across 17 districts. A verbal exchange between BJP supporters and SP candidate Dr Sanjay Tripathi also drew attention in Gorakhpur. (Images: X)
Gorakhpur (UP): Voting for the Gorakhpur-Faizabad Division Teachers’ Legislative Council constituency began at 8 am on Friday, October 23, with 35.07 per cent of the electorate casting their votes by noon, according to figures received from all 17 districts. The election is being conducted at 200 polling stations, where 54,910 eligible teacher voters are expected to exercise their franchise. Officials have been overseeing arrangements at polling centres, while security personnel have been deployed to help ensure that voting proceeds peacefully.
The latest figures available at 12 pm put the overall voter turnout at 35.07 per cent across the 17 districts covered by the constituency. Polling began at 8 am, with election staff managing the process and voters arriving to cast their ballots. The administration is monitoring the proceedings as voting continues across the constituency.
Political tensions surfaced at a polling centre in Gorakhpur when Samajwadi Party candidate Dr Sanjay Tripathi’s interaction with the media led to a verbal exchange with BJP supporters. BJP Mandal in-charge Ashish Gupta objected to the SP candidate giving a statement from inside the polling centre premises. The disagreement escalated into a heated exchange between the two sides, briefly creating a tense atmosphere at the location.
The incident occurred as polling was underway. The supplied information does not indicate any disruption to voting or provide details of further action by the authorities.
Unlike elections conducted using electronic voting machines, the teachers’ MLC election is being held through ballot papers and ballot boxes. Before voting began, officials were required to complete prescribed checks of the ballot boxes and other election-related formalities. After polling concludes, ballot papers and election records will be secured according to the prescribed procedure. The material will be kept in the strongroom set up at the Commerce Faculty building of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, which has been designated for election-related storage and counting arrangements.
To support the peaceful conducting of the elections, Gorakhpur District Magistrate Deepak Meena has ordered the closure of liquor outlets and bars within an eight-kilometre radius of the polling and counting venue. The restrictions cover country liquor and foreign liquor shops, beer outlets, composite and model shops, toddy and bhang shops, as well as bars attached to hotels, clubs and restaurants. According to the order described in the source material, the restrictions will remain in force until polling ends on October 23 and will apply again until counting is completed on October 27, 2026.
Once polling ends, ballot papers and related election documents will be secured in the designated strongroom at the university’s Commerce Faculty building. Counting is scheduled for October 27, with the administration maintaining arrangements intended to ensure that the election process is completed in an orderly manner.
