How Saffron Map Of Uttar Pradesh Looks After BJP Loses Half The Seats

The BJP has faced an unexpected shock in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as it lost more than half the seats that had won in the 2019 general elections.

Six Union ministers including Smriti Irani and Anupriya Patel (Apna Dal (S)), along with senior BJP leader Maneka Gandhi, were trailing in the Amethi, Mirzapur, and Sultanpur Lok Sabha seats, respectively.

The exit polls had predicted that the BJP would secure over 70 seats but failed to detect the undercurrent.

As of around 4 pm, the SP was leading in 37 seats, while the BJP had 33 seats. This marks a significant shift from the previous election, where Akhilesh Yadav's party, in partnership with the BSP, won just five seats. In contrast, the BJP had secured 62 seats on its own in 2019.

The Saffron Map In 2019

Akhilesh Yadav's solo campaigns and joint rallies with Rahul Gandhi seem to have made a substantial impact. Meanwhile, the BJP's emphasis on the Ram Mandir, following the temple's inauguration in Ayodhya, does not appear to have translated into electoral success.

In the last Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, the Mayawati-led BSP had come up with a decent performance, winning 10 seats through an alliance with the Samajwadi Party.

However, in the current general elections, the BSP drew a blank, severely damaging its reputation as the voice of Dalits in the state.

The Saffron Map In 2024

The BSP's candidate selection appeared aimed at undermining the opposition grouping, but the Samajwadi Party's emergence as the single largest party in the state and the Congress's improved performance in partnership with it indicate that Mayawati's influence has waned.