Lok Sabha election 2019: Here is all you need to know about Uttar Pradesh
Lok Sabha election 2019: in Uttar Pradesh, SP-BSP have come together to challenge the BJP, which won 71 of the 80 seats in 2014 and the Congress which ended up with just two seats.
In Lok Sabha election 2019, Uttar Pradesh is set to witness a three-way contest with SP-BSP combine pitted against the BJP and the Congress in the state that sends 80 members to the lower house of Parliament.
Months before the elections, BSP chief Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav of the SP, in a joint press conference, announced a 50-50 poll pact leaving out the Congress. Ajit Singh’s RLD is also expected to join the combine.
The Congress, which has decided to go solo, has brought in Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who will be managing Uttar Pradesh East and Jyotiraditya Scindia for west UP. Though Congress president has said that he does not expect ‘miracles’, the party would definitely want to improve its 2014 tally of just two seats.
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For BJP, the stakes are high as the party will want to retain the 71 seats they won in 2014, the best by a single party since 1984, when the Congress, riding a sympathy wave after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, won 83 of 85 Lok Sabha seats in undivided Uttar Pradesh.
Here’s all you need to know about the state before the Lok Sabha elelctions 2019:
Polling dates: April 11, 18, 23, 29, May 6,12, 19
Counting of votes: May 23
Ruling party/coalition in the state: BJP + Apna Dal + Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP)
Number of Lok Sabha seats in the state: 80
Party wise break-up of the Lok Sabha seats:
Present position:
BJP (68); Apna Dal (2), Congress (2), Samajwadi Party (7), Rashtriya Lok Dal(1)
Position at 2014 results: BJP (71), Apna Dal (2), SP (5), Congress (2)
Number of voters in the state: 14.40 crore
Voter turnout in 2014: 58.44%
Number of assembly seats: 403
Partywise break-up of assembly seats:
Present position:
BJP (311); SP (48), BSP (19), SBSP (4), Apna Dal (9), Congress (7), NISHAD party (1), RLD (1) Independent (3)
Position at 2017 results:
BJP (312); SP (47), BSP (19), SBSP (4), Apna Dal (9), Congress (7), NISHAD party (1), RLD (1) Independent (3)
Key players: Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), Mulayam Singh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), Shivpal Yadav (PSPL), Mayawati (BSP), Rahul Gandhi (Congress), Priyanka Gandhi (Congress), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Congress), Sonia Gandhi (Congress), Raj Babbar (Congress), Narendra Modi (BJP), Yogi Adityanath (BJP), Rajnath Singh (BJP), Om Prakash Rajbhar (SBSP), Anupriya Patel (Apna Dal)
Key issues: Farm issues, reservations, Pulwama terror attack and airstrikes, law and order situation in the state , Issues related to minorities, development projects