Assembly Elections 2017 : BJP storms to power in UP after 14 years securing three-fourths majority

Driven by the Modi wave, the BJP on Saturday stormed to power in Uttar Pradesh after 14 years, securing three-fourths majority and demolishing rivals SP-Congress and BSP in a keenly-contested Assembly polls.

Showing astonishing performance, the BJP got 312 seats in the 403-member Assembly. Its allies Apna Dal(S) and SBSP bagged nine seats and four seats, respectively, taking the total tally of the combine to 325.

On the other hand, the SP won 47 seats while its ally the Congress got 7 seats. The BSP won just 19 seats, finishing a dismal third.

Significantly, the Congress lost all the four assembly seats in Amethi district, the pocket borough of Nehru-Gandhi family, with BJP bagging three of them.

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The BJP-led alliance swept all the eight assembly segments falling under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.

Today’s results showed many prominent faces failing. The prominent among them were Aparna Yadav, younger daughter-in-law of SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav, from Lucknow Cantt, ministers Arvind Singh Gope from Ramnagar and Pawan Pandey from Ayodhya.

Accepting defeat, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said, “I hope the next government will work better than SP government.”

Akhilesh, who is also the president of the Samajwadi Party, added at a press conference, “I accept the verdict of the people, I will do analysis at booth level.”

He, however, said SP’s alliance with Congress will continue, claiming that “We have been benefited” by it.

Asked to comment on BSP chief Mayawati’s allegation about tampering of EVMs, Akhilesh said, “If questions have been raised on EVMs, the government should probe it.”

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Just before submitting his resignation, he suggested that the BJP had won by “misleading” the voters.

“I think in a democracy you get vote not by ‘samjhana’ (making people understand) but by ‘behkana’ (misguiding),” he said.

“In the entire elections, there were massive crowds in my rallies. Did people come only to watch? ... I did not expect such a thing will happen,” Akhilesh said.

“The people might not have liked my expressway and they voted for the bullet train,” the outgoing Chief Minister said.

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On who will take the responsibility for the humiliating defeat of the SP, Akhilesh said since he himself is the party chief he will carry out an assessment to see who should be blamed.

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A fuming Mayawati alleged that EVMs had been tampered with in such a way that whichever button was pressed, the vote went to BJP.

Terming the results as “shocking”, she said the Election Commission should withhold the results and hold fresh polls using traditional paper ballots. The EC, however, was quick to reject her claim of rigging and said her demand for a repoll using ballot papers was legally untenable.

Assembly Election Results 2017: Full Coverage

UP Assembly Election Results 2017: Full Coverage

Uttarakhand Assembly Election Results 2017: Full Coverage

Punjab Assembly Election Results 2017: Full Coverage

Goa Assembly Election Results 2017: Full Coverage

Manipur Assembly Election Results 2017: Full Coverage