BJP sweeps MLC polls in U.P. but loses in Varanasi

Samajwadi Party fails to secure even one seat

The ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday registered a resounding victory in the Legislative Council polls winning 33 of the 36 seats while the main Opposition Samajwadi Party had failed to secure even one.

While the BJP won 33 seats, two went to independent candidates while another was won by the Jansatta Dal Loktantrik of Kunda MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya. The BJP had already won nine seats unopposed after Opposition candidates had either withdrawn their nomination or had their nomination papers rejected during scrutiny. The SP had accused the BJP of misusing the administrative machinery during the nomination process to deter its candidates.

The results are a fresh boost to the image of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath under whose leadership the BJP has formed government in the key State for a second consecutive term after overcoming a spirited fight by the SP–led alliance.

The BJP won 24 of the 27 vacancies where voting took place, said the Chief Election Officer. In Varanasi, Azamgarh–Mau and Pratapgarh, however, the BJP lost incidentally to candidates linked to local Thakur strongmen.

In Varanasi, Annapurna Singh, wife of jailed muscleman Brajesh Singh, won comfortably, while the Azamgarh–Mau constituency was won by Vikrant Singh, son of BJP MLC Yashwant Singh who was recently expelled by the party for supporting his son’s rebellious candidature. In Pratapgarh, Akshay Pratap Singh, a relative of ‘Raja Bhaiya’, had won.

Mr. Vikrant Singh defeated BJP’s Arun Kant Yadav, son of sitting SP MLA Ramakant Yadav.

In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the MLC results were an expression of the people’s faith in the BJP’s “development model”. Mr. Modi congratulated Mr. Adityanath’s government and the workers of the party organisation.