2024 election results summary (NDA vs INDIA) | (UTTAR PRADESH) election updates

Election Results 2024 | Samajwadi Party returns to power in Uttar Pradesh, India Bloc leads over NDA

Akhilesh Yadav's party, which won five seats in alliance with BSP in the last election, has dealt a blow to the BJP, which had won 62 seats on its own in 2019.
    

According to the Election Commission's polling data for 80 parliamentary constituencies, India Bloc's Samajwadi Party and Congress are leading in 34 and 7 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP-led NDA is leading in 35 seats.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in 35 seats and its allies Rashtriya Lok Dal and Apna Dal are leading in one seat each. Chandrashekhar of Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) is leading by 1,09,799 votes over BJP's Om Kumar.

Key leaders who have an edge over their rivals include Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Lucknow, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Congress candidates Rahul Gandhi and Kishori Lal Sharma in Rae Bareli and Amethi, and Dimple Yadav in Kannauj and Mainpuri.

Samajwadi Party deals jolt to BJP

Akhilesh Yadav's party, which won five seats in alliance with the BSP in the last election, has dealt a blow to the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, which won 62 seats on its own in 2019.

Mr Yadav led the Opposition's campaign in the key political state, forming a good pairing with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and Arvind Kejriwal's party.

This was the first general election after the demise of SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh did not disappoint, to the extent that he is now ahead in more seats than he won in the 2004 election.

This change for the Opposition comes at a time when Mr Modi often insulted Mr Yadav and Rahul Gandhi by calling them "do ladke ki jodi". Mr Yadav, who is contesting from the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat, has taken upon himself the responsibility of garnering support for his wife Dimple Yadav and three cousins, all of whom are in the fray. 

Earlier during the election campaign, Mr Yadav had forced the BJP to change its narrative and to some extent even pushed it on the backfoot when he hit back at the ruling party's jibe on nepotism, saying those who have no family have no right to blame others. 

The rebuttal forced all top BJP leaders and grassroots workers to add "Modi ka Parivar" to their social media bios. The SP had given 18 seats to the Congress and one to the TMC and fielded its candidates on the remaining 80 seats.