Lucknow:
The BJP forged ahead of its rivals in 58 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh while the BSP-SP alliance was leading in 19 seats as counting of votes progressed, according to Election Commission trends.
In Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was leading by over 55,000 votes against his SP rival.
In the high-profile Amethi seat, BJP’s Smriti Irani established an early lead of 1,931 votes against sitting MP and Congress president Rahul Gandhi while UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was leading in neighbouring Rae Bareli by over 17,000 votes.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh was leading against his nearest SP rival Poonam Sinha and in Lucknow.
The Bahujan Samaj Party was leading in 11 and the Samajwadi Party in eight while the Congress was ahead in one and the Apna Dal (Soneylal) in one.
BJP stalwarts, including Union ministers Maneka Gandhi in Sultanpur and Santosh Gangwar in Bareilly, were ahead of their rivals after the first round of counting of ballots polled in the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Election Commission office said.
Officials said BJP’s Varun Gandhi in Pilibhit and state minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi in Allahabad were ahead of their nearest rivals.
Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam singh Yadav forged ahead in Mainpuri and his son SP chief Akhilesh Yadav was leading in Azamgarh.
Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav, who is seeking re-election from Kannauj, was leading the table.
In 2014, the BJP got 71 seats, the SP five, the Congress two and the BSP none.
In Badaun, sitting SP MP Dharmendra Yadav trailed behind BJP’s Sanghmita Maurya while in Baghpat, RLD’s national vice president Jayant Chaudary was behind BJP’s Satyapal Singh.
In Faizabad, sitting BJP MP Lallu Singh was leading while in Firozabad sitting SP MP Akshay Yadav was trailing behind BJP’s Chandra Sen Jadon.
