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Counting for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election results began at 8 am on Saturday at 75 centres across the state, where 403 seats are being contested. Polling was held in seven phases from February 11 to March 8, with a voter turnout of around 60%. The Bharatiya Janata Party fielded candidates in 384 constituencies, the Samajwadi Party in 298, its ally the Congress in 105, and the Bahujan Samaj Party in all 403.
The polls will determine whether the Samajwadi Party has been able to retain people’s faith in the state. On the other hand, it will also serve as a test for the BJP’s popularity since the Centre’s demonetisation drive. Meanwhile, the BSP is trying to make the most of the BJP-SP feud and push towards a surprise victory. The exit polls on Thursday had predicted a BJP win.
Uttar Pradesh is a crucial state for politics in the country. A win will give the BJP a significant number of seats in the Rajya Sabha, where it is still in the minority.
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Here are the updates as the votes come in:
9.25 am: ABP News shows BJP leading in 200 of the 284 seats for which trends are available. Dainik Bhaskar shows BJP leading in 210 seats, SP-Congress in 50 and BSP in 35.
9.22 am: Early trends have BJP workers celebrating outside the UP party headquarters.
9.20 am: Of the 24 seats for which EC data is available, newly-formed party Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal is leading in one. Read more about the party here.
9.18 am: BJP leads in 17 seats, SP in two and the BSP and Congress in one each, according to the Election Commission. Apna Dal (Soneylal) and Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal lead in one seat each. BJP has 40% of the vote share, SP 18% and Congress 8%.
9.13 am: MLC Madhukar Jetley on NewsX hinted at a defeat for the SP – the first party leader to do so. He blamed Akhilesh Yadav’s rift with his father Mulayam Singh Yadav for the loss, journalist Barkha Dutt said on Twitter.
9.09 am: Mulayam Singh Yadav’s daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav trailing from the Lucknow Cantonment seat. She contested for the constituency against BJP’s Rita Bahuguna Joshi.
9.05 am: The first numbers from the Election Commission are in. BJP is leading in five seats, while BSP and SP are leading in one each. The saffron party has 36% of the vote share.
9 am: The first hour of counting has ended. There is still no data from the Election Commission. But media outlets are remarkably showing numbers for as many as 170 seats. The ABP News has BJP with a lead in 100 seats.
8.58 am: Amar Ujala show the BJP with a lead in 100 seats. SP-Congress trails with 33 and the BSP with 21.
8. 55 am: Azam Khan’s son Abdullah is trailing in Rampur district’s Swar constituency, according to ANI.
8.50 am: CNN-News18 shows BJP with a lead in 69 seats, while the Congress-SP alliance and BSP trail with 17 and 13.
8.47 am: The BJP continues to gain strength, according to media outlets. According to Bhaskar and Amar Ujala, BJP has more leads than the seats won in 2012. The party won 47 seats in 2012. It is leading in 50 seats, according to Bhaskar.
8.45 am: According to ABP News, the BJP is leading in 50 seats and SP-Congress in 25, while the BSP trails with 16.
8.38 am: No official data available from the Election Commission yet, but several media outlets are showing significant gains for the BJP.
8.35 am: Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav appears certain of a “big win” for his party’s alliance with the Congress.
8.30 am: According to Dainik Bhaskar, BJP has the lead with 25 seats, while Congress-SP has 18 and the BSP 14.
8.28 am: Cameras on drones are being used for surveillance near a counting centre in Lucknow.
8.22 am: Local reports say independent candidate Raghuraj Pratap Singh, better known as Raja Bhaiya, has an early lead in the Kunda consituency, while BSP’s Mukhtar Ansari is leading in Mau. There are no official figures from the Election Commission yet.
8.18 am: The first numbers are in. The BJP, Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance and BSP all have leads in two seats each, according to media outlets. There are no official figures from the Election Commission yet.
8.10 am: Samajwadi Party workers performed a havan in Lucknow ahead of counting.
8.07 am: More than a thousand candidates contested for the 403 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
8 am: Counting of votes has begun. Security arrangements are in place outside counting centres. Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi had said 188 companies of paramilitary forces had been deployed in the state to maintain law and order.
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