The assembly election in Uttar Pradesh has thrown up a new winner in the form of the Samajwadi Party but new challenges too have emerged for all the parties involved in politically heavyweight state.

With early trends putting BJP in number two position in Uttar Pradesh, the party today said it took up issues which were not "sensational" even as it gave credit to Nitin Gadkari for the performance.

The Bharatiya Janata Party today said the Uttar Pradesh election results would cast a shadow on the Congress-led central government as the Samajwadi Party had emerged strongly in the state.

With the Congress nowhere near power in Uttar Pradesh, the party sprung to its chief campaigner Rahul Gandhi's defence today with state party chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi saying the onus for defeat lay with the state unit.

The Samajwadi Party will hold its parliamentary board meeting on Wednesday to decide it's chief ministerial candidate.

The Congress party trailed in fourth place as vote counting neared its end in Uttar Pradesh today, a bitter election blow to Rahul Gandhi who had staked his political future on reviving his party's fortunes in the populous state.

Uttar Pradesh party chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi today said she will take responsibility for such eventuality if the party fails to convert Gandhi's presence into votes.

The Samajwadi Party is emerging as the single largest party leading in 173 of the total 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh assembly today.

Samajwadi Party, which is predicted by exit polls to emerge the single largest party, is hopeful that it would get a majority on its own and was confident that it may not need the support of others.

The Samajwadi Party is eagerly awaiting the coronation day. But its national president Mulayam Singh Yadav has taken 'a vow of silence' which speaks volumes of his confidence. Pankaj Jaiswal reports.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should get all the blame if his party does badly in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kalraj Mishra today said.

It was the evening of the long vigil — even for the Samajwadi Party that hopes to be the biggest gainer in the 2012 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. A studied silence prevailed outside the residence of Mulayam Singh Yadav, even though the crowds kept swelling. Sunita Aron reports. Possible scenarios in UP after exit polls | Will Punjab buck the trend this time?

With most exit polls nudging Cong to the fourth place in UP, Salman Khurshid has said the picture does not meet the expectation. On the issue of post-poll alliance and Beni Prasad's 'pact with BSP' remarks, he said Congress was not a party "where we have thought control." Parties talk and plot ahead of poll results | UP hung, Cong edge in two states, say exit polls | Stage set

Post-poll alliances in Uttar Pradesh were anybody’s guess on Sunday with parties having a stake in the state throwing up varying possibilities and indulging in posturing. HT reports. UP hung, Cong edge in two states, say exit polls | Exit polls best left to entertainment channels: CEC | Picking sides