Hope for return of power for the Saffron brigade in Uttar Pradesh.

Recent results in Parliament elections which showed complete majority for Bharatiya Janta Party in the Centre had also raised the hope of return of power for the Saffron brigade in Uttar Pradesh. The Modi move which gripped the entire UP, pointed 3 / 4 majority for the BJP while ruling Samajwadi Party has faced a severe humiliation as its candidate could win in just 37 assembly segments in comparison to winning 224 seats in the 2012 assembly elections. BJP has swiped the elections by winning in 335 assembly segments giving an indication about the popularity of the party in the wake of ‘Modi wave’. BJP had won 47 seats in the 2012 assembly polls.

According to the Election Commission data, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which won 80 seats in the Assembly polls could only manage to get lead in just nine Assembly segments this time while Apna Dal, an alliance partner of BJP was ahead in nine assembly segments as compared to winning just one seat in 2012. Congress, which won 28 seats in 2012 including one Independent, won in 13 segments this time. However, as a record Congress president Sonia Gandhi from Rae Bareli and her son and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi from Amethi won in all the five assembly segments of their constituencies. Congress was ahead in two assembly segments in Saharanpur seat and one in Pratapgarh constituency.  

Congress won just two lS seats with a vote share of 7.5 per cent. 

Almost all BJP candidates including party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and BJP president Rajnath Singh took lead in all the five segments. The party won 71 seats with 42.3 per cent vote share while its alliance partner Apna Dal won two seats with one per cent share in the votes.

Similarly SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav led in just four assembly segments in his Mainpuri constituency while BJP was ahead in one. But in Azamgarh seat,  Yadav won in all the five segments.  SP won five seats in the lS polls but received 22.2 per cent vote share. Dimple Yadav, wife of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav won in just three of the five assembly segments. Dharmendra Yadav won in all the five segments in Badaun seat but his younger counsin Akshay won just three segments in Ferozabad seat.  BSP, which could not win a single lS seat even after getting 19.6 per cent of vote share led in 9 assembly segments in a scattered way. Apna Dal, had taken lead in all the five segments of Mirzapur seat and four In Pratapgarh.   BJP won two assembly by-elections while Apna Dal and Congress won one each. BJP will have to face a real test again when by-elections for 11 assembly seats would be held as their MlAs, who won Parliament elections now had to resign from the State Assembly. Except for one of the Apna Dal, all the 10 MlAs who would resign after elected to the lok Sabha are from the BJP.