The BJP is struggling to keep up with the opposition in India’s most populated state Uttar Pradesh with left agape in shock. The numbers coming in were not expected at all as the exit polls clearly indicated a clean sweep for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), as per the Election Commission figures, grabbed 38 seats, wherein the BJP sealed 36 and the RLD two, whereas the INDIA Bloc managed to secure 42 seats, wherein 34 went to the SP and 8 to Congress.
This comes as a major contrast to the 2019 elections, wherein the NDA won a whopping 62 seats, while the opposition won 10 and five seats, respectively. UP has 80 Lok Sabha seats, and this is considered as the crucial state to determine which party or alliance will form the next government at the Centre.
Moreover, all eyes on UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath who had promised a thorough win for the ruling party and their NDA.
No Gains Out of Ram Temple for BJP
The BJP may have been riding high on the Ram Temple, built in Ayodhya on a $6 billion (Rs 1,800 crore) budget; after the court’s ruling on Babri Masjid gave way to the Ram Temple. But this may have a negative impact on the party.
BJP leaders had been thumping their chests hard with the pride of the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the construction of the Ram Temple, a promise they vowed to give to the Hindu heartland.
It’s to be seen whether Narendra Modi will be able to make a clean sweep in Varanasi. The Congress lost to Modi in the last two elections in 2014 and 2019. In the Mathura constituency, actress-turned politician Hema Malini is leading, while in Amethi, Union Minister Smriti Irani is struggling to get counts.
Rahul Gandhi to Make Hattrick in Rae Bareli
Latest figures indicate that Rahul Gandhi is leading UP’s Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat, which is a major seat for the Congress. It was formely retained by Congress party president Sonia Gandhi and was handed to younger leader after he lost Amethi to Irani.
In Bihar where 40 seats are up for grabs, JD(U) is in the lead. This is also a high stakes state. The NDA won 39 out of the 40 seats in the 2019 elections, while the Congress managed to win only one. Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) had shifted back to NDA in the last minute, a blow to the INDIA Bloc.
The Lucknow seat is also to be watched as BJP’s Rajnath Singh seeks re-election for a third time. Other seats to watch are Muzaffarnagar, Amroha, and Meerut.
