Assembly polls: Stage set for counting of votes in UP

Lucknow: Counting of votes polled in the crucial Uttar Pradesh elections will take place on Thursday, the outcome of which will decide whether the BJP returns to power for the second consecutive term. “Counting in all the 75 districts of the state will begin at 8 am. The postal ballots will be counted first, and then the votes polled in the EVMs will be counted,” a senior election official told PTI.

Almost all the exit polls have predicted that the BJP will return to power. They have forecast an increase in Samajwadi Party’s tally but not enough to form the government. The exit polls have forecast doubledigit numbers for the BSP and singledigit count for the Congress.

Both the SP and BSP have dismissed the exit polls, claiming that they would win the poll comfortably and form their government in the state, which has a 403-member assembly. If the BJP comes to power, it would be a record for a party getting re-elected in UP for a second term in over three decades. In 2017, BJP had won 312 seats on its own while NDA’s figure was 325.

The SP had won 47, BSP 19 and the Congress had won seven seats, two less than Apna Dal (S) at nine. The BJP went in the polls this time with Apna Dal (Sonelal) and NISHAD party while Akhilesh Yadav had formed a rainbow coalition with RLD and a string of regional parties, including Om Prakash Rajbhar’s Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP).

Considering its bearing on the 2024 Parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath aggressively campaigned across the state to drum up support for the saffron party. On Tuesday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the ruling BJP of trying to “steal” votes and claimed a truck carrying EVMs was “intercepted” in Varanasi, but the Election Commission clarified that the machines were for training officials on counting duty and had not been used in elections.

In a statement issued late on Tuesday night, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of UP said, “Rumours were spread by people of some political party by stopping the vehicle and alleging that these EVMs were used in elections. “According to the report sent by the District Election Officer (of Varanasi), it was found during the investigation that these EVMs were marked for training... Training has been organised for March 9 (Wednesday),” it had said. The voting for the politically-important state was done in seven rounds starting February 10.

For the opposition, Akhilesh addressed 131 rallies and roadshows to take on the pantheon of leaders from the ruling camp. Mayawati, whose absence on the ground had initially triggered speculations that BSP was out of the power race, also hit the streets in favour of her party nominees.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who led the party from the front in UP, attended 209 rallies and roadshows, maximum among top leaders of various parties, in a bid to regain lost ground for her party in the Hindi heartland. Sonia Gandhi virtually addressed voters in her Rae Bereli constituency while Rahul Gandhi addressed two rallies - one in Amethi and another in Varanasi. (PTI)