The Modi-Yogi juggernaut has broken the 36-year jinx over an incumbent Chief Minister coming back to power for a second term in Uttar Pradesh with the BJP headed for landslide victory of 268 of the 403 seats in the state as results and leads from the counting came in at 6.30 p.m.
Welcoming the results, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, “By making us win, the people have once again voted for nationalism, good governance. It's our responsibility to continue working on these issues.”
Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party was in the second spot and although it appears to be doubling its tally over the previous assembly election, it is lagging behind the BJP with victory expected in 124 seats.
The Congress was leading in a mere two seats while the BSP appears to be getting a solitary seat as both parties faced a colossal humiliation at the hustings.
The big names leading in the vote count are Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur, Akhilesh Yadav from Karhal, his party's Shivpal Yadav from Jaswant Nagar, and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya from Sirathu.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had himself led the charge in the UP poll campaign addressing several rallies across the state and driving home the benefits of the big push to economic development by the “double-engine” BJP government. The move has paid rich dividends for the party, according to political analysts.
PM Modi was deeply involved in the BJP campaigning for the UP polls and ensured that there was no factionalism in the party. The Prime Minister heaped praises on the UP CM Yogi Adityanath for the development works done in the state and coined a new slogan on "UP plus Yogi bahut hai upyogi (UP plus Yogi is very useful)".
PM Modi held rallies in Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Bahraich, Amethi, and a massive roadshow in Varanasi all of which attracted huge crowds.
With 80 parliamentary seats, Uttar Pradesh holds the key to power at the centre and is seen as a good indicator of the voters’ mind ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Home to about a fifth of India's 135 crore people, UP sends the highest number of MPs to the Lok Sabha.
The Samajwadi Party, considered the biggest challenger of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh was banking on a rainbow coalition of smaller parties to back its Muslim-Yadav support base.
Also read: Yogi’s 360-degree leadership lays groundwork for Uttar Pradesh’s renaissance
