Election Results 2024: Samajwadi Party Triumphs in Uttar Pradesh; INDIA Bloc Surpasses NDA

 

From Securing Five Seats with BSP Last Election, Akhilesh Yadav's Party Delivers a Major Blow to BJP, Which Held 62 Seats in 2019

According to the Election Commission's data for the 80 parliamentary constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party and Congress of the INDIA bloc are leading in 34 and 7 Lok Sabha seats, respectively. Meanwhile, the BJP-led NDA is leading in 35 seats.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in 35 seats, with its allies Rashtriya Lok Dal and Apna Dal each leading in one seat. Chandrashekhar of the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) holds a lead of 109,799 votes over BJP's Om Kumar.

Among the prominent leaders with comfortable leads are Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Lucknow, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Dimple Yadav in Kannauj and Mainpuri, and Congress candidates Rahul Gandhi and Kishori Lal Sharma in Rae Bareli and Amethi.

 SP’s Blow to BJP

In a significant turnaround, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, which won only five seats in the last election in partnership with the BSP, has delivered a major blow to the BJP, which had secured 62 seats on its own in 2019.

Mr. Yadav led the opposition’s campaign in the crucial political state, effectively collaborating with Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party.

This general election marked the first since the passing of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, and Akhilesh Yadav did not disappoint, leading his party to more seats than they won in the 2004 election.

The opposition's resurgence occurred despite Mr. Yadav and Rahul Gandhi often being dismissed by Mr. Modi as the "Do ladko ki jodi" (pair of two boys).

In the race for the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat, Mr. Yadav took it upon himself to rally support for his wife, Dimple Yadav, and three cousins, all of whom were also contesting.

Earlier in the campaign, Mr. Yadav forced the BJP to recalibrate its narrative, even putting it on the defensive, by countering the ruling party’s nepotism jibe. He argued that those without families had no right to criticize others. This rebuttal led BJP leaders and grassroots workers to add "Modi ka Parivaar" (Modi's Family) to their social media bios.

The SP had allocated 18 seats to Congress, one to TMC, and fielded its own candidates in the remaining constituencies of the total 80.