Bypolls to three Lok Sabha seats — Azamgarh and Rampur in Uttar Pradesh and Sangrur in Punjab — were held on Thursday.
It is a crucial test for both the Samajwadi Party and the Aam Aadmi Party. The results, which will be declared on Sunday, will reveal if the Samajwadi Party, in spite of its defeat in the Assembly elections, can hold on to its bastions. For the AAP, the elections, coming on the heels of the murder of Sidhu Moosewala which drew allegations of law and order breakdown in the State, will test whether the popularity of the Bhagwant Mann government can withstand the outrage.
Bypolls in Uttar Pradesh were necessitated by the resignation of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and senior leader Azam Khan after both chose to retain the Assembly seats they won in the recent elections.
