The ruling BJP seems to be on course to retain power in Uttar Pradesh, with poll trends on Thursday showing the party alliance leading in 273 seats as against 121 of its nearest rival Samajwadi Party.
The state has 403 assembly seats and 202 seats are needed to form a majority government. Prominent candidates who have secured a lead include Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav from Karhal, Shivpal Yadav from Jaswant Nagar and CLP leader Aradhana Shukla from Rampur Khas (Pratapgarh).
The BSP nominee has secured 1,477 votes while Chandra Shekhar of Azad Samaj Party has bagged 1,386 votes. Chetna Pandey of the Congress is struggling with 272 votes and AAP nominee Vijay Kumar Shrivastava with 93 votes.
However, Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya is trailing from Sirathu seat while Swami Prasad Maurya of the SP is also trailing from Fazil Nagar seat. Congress State president Ajay Kumar Lallu is trailing from Tumkuhi Raj.
According to official trends available for 399 seats, the BJP is leading in 252 seats while its allies Apna Dal (S) and Nishad party are leading in 12 and five seats respectively.
While the Samajwadi Party is leading in 110 seats, its allies SBSP and RLD are leading in three and eight seats respectively.
