Cycle rolls over BJP's Purvanchal fortress, comparison with 2019 result

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BJP failed to reach the majority mark and a big reason for it was its underwhelming performance in Uttar Pradesh. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's double engine and bulldozer pitches failed to strike a chord with the voters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity also took a hit. This despite his incessant raking up of the Ram Temple while campaigning.

It comes as a huge disappointment that even though Modi convincingly won from Varanasi, his party faced defeats in almost all other seats in the Purvanchal region.

Out of the 13 seats in Purvanchal, the Samajwadi Party bagged 10. The cycle rolled over the lotus in BJP's fortress. Akhilesh Yadav's PDA formula seems to have served him well.

Samajwadi party swept Purvanchal with wins or leads in Ghosi, Azamgarh, Lalganj, Jaunpur, Machhlishahr, Chandauli, Robertsganj, Gazipur, Salempur and Ballia. BJP ally Apna Dal (Soneylal) won the Mirzapur seat.

Over all in the state, Samajwadi Party and Congress combined bagged over 40 seats and restricted the BJP to around 33 seats.
As the BJP scrambles to form the government at the Centre with the help of its allies, it has much thinking to do in the state that sends highest number of lawmakers to the parliament.