Throughout the seven phases of polling in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, the main question in the minds of political practitioners and observers was whether the Samajwadi Party (S.P.) could defeat the well-established political machinery of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its associates. Despite making gains in terms of seats and vote share, the S.P. and its allies were unable to generate enough support to depose the Adityanath-led BJP government. The BJP and its allies won 273 seats, down from the 322 they won in 2017, but still secured a second consecutive term. The S.P. and its allies increased their seat tally to 125, with the S.P.’s own vote share significantly increasing. The decline in the Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) vote share was a topic of discussion, with speculation of a deal with the BJP. However, the BSP’s decline is a concern considering its previous strong support. The Congress and other parties advocating identity politics also suffered losses. The BJP’s victory can be attributed to factors such as nationalism, Hindutva, the distribution of free ration, and the diffusing of anger over issues like the farmers’ movement and the pandemic mismanagement. Both the S.P. alliance and the BJP-led NDA increased their vote share in important regions of the State. However, the S.P. alliance did not penetrate western Uttar Pradesh as much as expected, despite the region being the epicentre of the farmers’ agitation. The S.P.-RLD alliance did secure seats in some districts, but it was not a clean sweep. Overall, the farmers’ movement played a role in making the election more competitive and transforming it into a bipolar contest between the S.P. alliance and the NDA. The S.P. was criticized for its slow campaign, but it managed to make significant gains.
BJP emerges victorious after a fierce battle in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections
