The Assembly elections in the five states — Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur — were recently held in several phases.
New Delhi: While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) managed to clinch victory in the Punjab Assembly election by winning 92 of the 117 seats, BJP managed to win Goa polls after it bagged 20 seats and got support from three Independent candidates on Thursday. BJP is also headed to a victory in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Manipur.
In Uttar Pradesh, BJP is currently leading in 59 seats and has already been declared winner in 196 seats, followed by Samajwadi Party which is leading in 41 seats and has won 69 seats. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is leading with 1,02,892 votes against Samajwadi Party candidate Subhawati Upendra Dutt Shukla in the Gorakhpur Urban seat. It is important to note that the victory comes despite Adityanath visiting Noida — a city consciously avoided by other Chief Ministers over a superstitious belief that whoever visits the city loses the chief ministership.
Also Read: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath overcomes superstition, breaks ‘Noida Jinx’
The state had witnessed polling in seven phases from February 10 to March 7 amid a fierce battle between BJP and Samajwadi Party. Candidates of other main political parties — Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) — are also in fray. The exit polls have predicted a victory for BJP in the election while Samajwadi Party is predicted to be the principal Opposition party.
Also Read: BJP to retain UP, AAP to win Punjab: Exit Polls
In Punjab, the AAP won 92 seats of the 117 constituencies and has been declared winner. Meanwhile, Congress has won 18 seats. BJP managed to win two seats while Shiromani Akali Dal won three seats.
The voting for these seats had taken place in a single phase on February 17. Since majority of the exit polls had predicted a victory for AAP in this polls, all eyes were on its chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann won from the Dhuri seat with a margin of 58,206 votes against Congress candidater Dalvir Singh Goldy.
Meanwhile, Congress’s chief ministerial face Charanjit Singh Channi lost in both the seats — Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur — to AAP candidates. Voters also seem to have rejected former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who lost to AAP candidate in Patiala Ajit Pal Singh Kohli.
In Uttarakhand, BJP is leading in 4 seats and has been declared winner in 43 seats while Congress is leading in 2 seats and has clinched 17 seats. Polling in Uttarakhand had taken place on February 14 in a single phase. Although the exit polls had shown a neck-and-neck fight between BJP and Congress, the saffron party seems to be heading towards a smooth victory. If BJP wins, sitting Chief Minister Puskar Singh Dhami may get a second term.
In Goa, BJP won 20 seats and got support from three Independent candidates. Congress bagged 11 seats. Majority of the exit polls had predicted an equal number of seats for both BJP and Congress. For BJP candidate and sitting Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, it was a prestigious battle this time as other political parties had also claimed their stakes. After initially trailing behind the Congress candidate, Sawant managed a wafer-thin-margin-victory.
In Goa, this is the first assembly polls after the death of the state’s all-time famous Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
In Manipur, BJP is leading in 3 seats and has been declared victorious in 29 seats. Congress and Naga People’s Front won five seats each and National People’s Party is leading in one seats and has bagged six seats. Janata Dal (United) won six, according to the Election Commission’s website.
