BJP likely to retain power in Uttar Pradesh, predicts India TV Opinion Poll
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is predicted to return to power for a second consecutive term in Uttar Pradesh with a brute majority, according to an Opinion Poll by Ground Zero Research. The ruling saffron party will likely get 230-235 seats in the Legislative Assembly that has 403 seats. The Samajwadi Party-led alliance will win 160-165 seats while the Congress and BSP will get a thin share of 3 to 7 and 2 to 5 seats in the House, respectively, the data shows. Firebrand BJP leader and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who has been declared BJP candidate from Gorakhpur, will secure a comfortable win from the party stronghold. Notably, Adityanath is the second leader to contest from the district as a Chief Minister after Tribhuvan Narayan Singh who had lost in 1971. Gorakhpur which falls in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh has been the stronghold of the saffron party for long. Adityanath won parliamentary elections for a record five terms since 1998 from Gorakhpur. He had to resign in 2017 after he was made the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He was then elected to the Legislative Council. Notably, the Purvanchal region has kept changing political colour since the 2007 polls, each time going on to support the winner in the polls. By fielding Adityanath from Gorakhpur, the BJP is quite sure that it will repeat its 2017 show in the region, thus enabling it to install the party's government in Lucknow again. Uttar Pradesh polls will be held in seven phases -- on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27, March 3 and 7. The results will be declared on March 10 along with the four other poll-bound states of Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. The BJP had in 2017 delivered a stunning win, bagging 312 of 403 Legislative Assembly seats. The ruling Samajwadi Party had secured 47 seats and the Congress won just seven.
