Lucknow, Jun 4 : In a stunning turn of events, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led by Mayawati, is facing a major setback in the Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha elections. The party is currently trailing behind in all 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state, marking one of its worst electoral defeats.
According to the latest data from the Election Commission, the BSP has secured only 1.92 percent of the votes nationwide and 9.16 percent of the votes in Uttar Pradesh.
At 2.00 pm, the Samajwadi Party candidates were leading on 37 Lok Sabha seats, while their ally, the Congress, was leading on seven seats. On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was leading on 33 seats, with its allies, the Rashtriya Lok Dal and Apna Dal (Sonelal), leading on one seat each.
In a surprising turn, Chandrashekhar of the Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) is leading from the Nagina (SC) seat with a margin of over 1.09 lakh votes against his BJP rival.
This defeat is reminiscent of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when the BSP failed to secure any seats in Uttar Pradesh, even amidst the Narendra Modi wave that swept the state. However, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BSP formed an alliance with the Samajwadi Party and RRLD, resulting in victory in 10 parliamentary constituencies.
The BSP, which holds the status of a national party, had seen a significant improvement in its electoral performance in Uttar Pradesh. In 2009, the party won 21 seats, surpassing its tally of 19 seats in 2004. Prior to that, the Mayawati-led party won six seats in the 1996 Lok Sabha polls, four seats in the 1998 parliamentary elections, and 14 seats in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections.
Unfortunately, the BSP’s performance in the 2022 UP assembly elections was equally disappointing, with only one candidate managing to secure a victory. This defeat has raised questions about the future direction of the party and its ability to regain political influence in the state.
