Lok Sabha Poll Results: UP ke ladke boost INDIA bloc to lead; Ram temple no game-changer for BJP
Uttar Pradesh, considered a BJP stronghold, has proven to be a tough challenge for the party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Lok Sabha Poll Results: Uttar Pradesh, considered a BJP stronghold, has proven to be a tough challenge for the party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Nearly eight hours into the counting, the INDIA bloc that includes the Samajwadi Party and the Congress had a comfortable lead of 44 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats, surpassing the NDA's tally of 35.
The BJP won 71 seats in the 2014 election and 62 seats in 2019 and for the 2024 elections, the exit polls predicted a repeat of the trend. However, this time the results so far prove that exit polls don't always get it right. There are still several rounds of counting left, and the picture could change at any time.
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Ram Temple did not help BJP
The result has caught the BJP off guard. The construction of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, a BJP poll promise since the 1980s, was one of the most talked-about issues in this election. BJP supporters claimed it would be the deciding factor in the Lok Sabha election results.
However, trends show that Ayodhya has failed to assert itself as a key factor in Faizabad, the constituency of which it is a part.
According to Election Commission data, Awadesh Prasad of the Samajwadi Party leads BJP candidate Lallu Singh by more than 20,000 votes. Looking at the neighbouring constituencies, the BJP leads in two of the seven that border Faizabad: Gonda and Kaiserganj.
On the other hand, Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi came together under the INDIA alliance for the key Lok Sabha elections. If current trends continue, the two could have changed the picture this time. The INDIA bloc currently controls 42 of Uttar Pradesh's 80 seats, five more than the NDA.
Prashant Kishor's prediction
Political strategist Prashant Kishor had recently stated that the BJP will not receive a single vote in the name of Ram Mandir. "Ram Mandir is a major issue for BJP supporters. I didn't find anyone who didn't vote for the BJP in the name of Ram Mandir before and will vote for it today...there's no incremental benefit," he said in an interview with RTV Andhra Pradesh.