SP Stuns in UP as INDI Leads on 42 of 80 Seats; BJP Heavyweights Fall Behind

Lucknow: As the counting for the 543 Lok Sabha seats continued, the INDI alliance delivered a surprising performance in Uttar Pradesh, leading in 42 of the total 80 constituencies, according to trends on the Election Commission website. Within the INDI bloc, the Samajwadi Party (SP) was ahead in 34 seats, and the Congress in eight, based on the EC's data for the 80 parliamentary constituencies in the state.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led NDA achieved a dominant victory in Uttar Pradesh, winning 62 of the state's 80 seats. The BSP and the Samajwadi Party, then allies, secured 10 and five seats, respectively. However, this year saw a significant shift as the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, now part of the INDI alliance, jointly dominated Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, the BSP failed to secure any seats in the state.  For the unversed, the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party was contesting 62 seats, while the Congress was vying for 17 seats in the 2024 general elections.   

Meanwhile, the BJP had retained its alliance with Apna Dal (Sonelal) and expanded the NDA fold to include Jayant Chaudhary’s RLD and OP Rajbhar’s Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party.  Initial trends showed that the BJP-led NDA was leading in 37 seats, with the BJP itself ahead in 35 and its ally RLD in two. The Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) was leading in one seat. The unexpected lead by the INDI alliance has put many BJP heavyweights on the back foot.

BJP Heavyweights Fall Behind

Leaders like Smriti Irani, Ajay Mishra Teni, Maneka Gandhi and Anupriya Patel of the Apna Dal(S) were trailing in the Amethi, Kheri, Sultanpur and Mirzapur seats respectively. On the Faizabad seat in Ayodhya district, the BJP's Lallu Singh is trailing by 5,326 votes against the SP's Awadhesh Prasad.   

Who's Leading? 

Among the prominent leaders who have taken comfortable leads over their rivals are Narendra Modi in Varanasi, Rajnath Singh in Lucknow, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Dimple Yadav in Kannauj and Mainpuri respectively, Congress candidates Rahul Gandhi and Kishori Lal Sharma in Rae Bareli and Amethi respectively. The BJP's Arun Govil and Hema Malini were also ahead of their rivals in the Meerut and Mathura seats respectively.