Campaigning for the crucial by-elections in the nine assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh came to an end on Monday evening.

Polling for the bypolls is slated to be held on November 20 in which over 2 million voters will exercise their franchise.

Touted to be the semifinal of the 2027 assembly polls in the state, there is a direct contest between the ruling BJP and the Samajwadi Party in all nine seats. Congress is supporting the SP in these elections with the BSP and other smaller parties being in the fray.

After the debacle of the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, the bypolls are a litmus test for Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as well as for Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Akhilesh Yadav looking to maintain his winning streak.

The hectic electioneering for the bypolls witnessed a slogan war between the BJP and the SP.

Leading the campaign for the BJP, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited each assembly segment at least twice besides holding roadshows to woo the voters. He has been assisted by his ministerial colleagues and the state BJP leadership.

On the other hand, SP President Akhilesh Yadav, spearheading his party’s campaign, visited the constituencies and wooed the voters making a strong case for a change.

On the last day of campaigning today, Akhilesh Yadav addressed a public meeting in the Meerapur assembly segment while CM Yogi was away in Jharkhand.

Of the nine seats that will go to polls on November 20, four were held by the Samajwadi Party, three by the BJP, one each by the BJP ally Nishad Party and former SP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), the party that switched sides and joined the NDA before the Lok Sabha polls.

All the seats except Sisamau fell vacant after their MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha. In Sisamau, bypoll is being held due to the disqualification of SP MLA Irfan Solanki after his conviction in a criminal case.

The spotlight is on Karhal and Katehari held by the SP with the BJP putting in all its efforts to wrest them.

Among seats, Ghaziabad, Khair, and Phulpur were held by the BJP while the Meerapur seat was won by the RLD.

Majhwan seat was with the Nishad Party, but this time around, the BJP has fielded a former MLA in a bid to wrest the Kundarki seat in Moradabad and Sisamau in Kanpur from SP.

Polling in the nine assembly seats will be held from 7 am to 6 pm on November 20 while counting of votes will be taken up on November 23.