Going by the early trends, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is all set to retain power in Uttar Pradesh. The party has gained massive leads in the first two hours of counting.
Adityanath is leading in Gorakhpur. Although Akhilesh Yadav is leading in the Karhal seat, his Samajwadi Party (SP) is clearly a distant second.
While the BJP is leading in 261 constituencies, SP is ahead in only 127. SP’s performance is, however, much better from what it was in 2017 — it had bagged only 47 seats. But it is far from what was needed to dethrone the BJP. Some say this is because of its narrow social base.
Shivpal Yadav is trailing in Jaswant Nagar while Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya is ahead in Sirathu. Senior SP leader Mohd Azam Khan is leading in Rampur.
The Congress continues its dismal run in the state. At present, it is leading in only five seats. Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is also ahead in only six seats.
The UP polls are being seen are an indicator of the national mood ahead of the 2024 general elections.