The 2024 Lok Sabha Elections have become a platform of many firsts for the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP), which has made history with its spectacular performance by winning the maximum number of seats in Parliament since its formation. In the recently concluded 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, the Samajwadi Party, a prominent member of the INDIA bloc, won a record-breaking 37 seats out of the total 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh. This victory marks a significant moment for Akhilesh Yadav and the party leaders as they successfully broke the record for the most seats won in Parliament. In addition to winning the highest number of seats, the party's vote share also saw a significant jump, reaching 33.59% in UP.
SP Lifts INDIA Bloc in fight against NDA
With this record figure, the SP has stolen the thunder for the INDIA bloc against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Notably, the Congress, which contested in alliance with the SP, also had a fair share of winning seats in the state, securing a total of six seats, including regaining control of the Amethi seat, previously won by BJP leader Smriti Irani in 2019. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which won a landslide victory in Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, however had to settle for 33 seats in the state this time, compared to their previous record of winning more than 60 seats.
SP witnesses its best-ever performance
The Samajwadi Party contested its first Lok Sabha election in 1996, (after being formed in 1992), where the party won 16 Lok Sabha seats in UP with a vote share of 20.80%. In the 1998 Lok Sabha elections, the party increased its support base and won 20 seats with a vote share of 28.7%. The party again saw significant gains in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, winning 26 seats. However, it was in 2004 that the party set a record by winning 35 seats, with 26.74% of the vote.
Subsequent to its earlier gain, however the party again surfaced low in the 2009 elections, where their seats decreased to 23. Further, this similar trend has been witnessed in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections also, when the SP could win only five seats.
| Years | Voting Percent | Winning Seat |
| 1991 | 20.84 | 16 |
| 1996 | 28.70 | 20 |
| 1999 | 24.06 | 26 |
| 2004 | 26.74 | 35 |
| 2009 | 23.26 | 23 |
| 2014 | 22.18 | 05 |
| 2019 | 17.96 | 05 |
SP gave tough competition to BJP in UP
It is pertinent to note that the SP gave tough competition to the BJP in UP, halving the BJP's seat count. Even where the SP lost, it often remained in second place. In many constituencies, the margin between victory and defeat was between 2,000 to 50,000 votes, and in some seats, the BJP won by less than 5,000 votes. The SP also defeated the BJP in Ayodhya, despite the BJP's nationwide campaign centered on the Ram Mandir.
Five leaders of Mulayam's family became MPs
Notably, five members of Mulayam Singh Yadav's family have become MPs. Akhilesh Yadav, his wife Dimple Yadav, cousin Akshay Yadav, Dharmendra Yadav, and Aditya Yadav have all won the Lok Sabha elections. Earlier, the Samajwadi Party president and newly elected MP from Kannauj, Akhilesh Yadav, received his election certificate on Wednesday from District Magistrate/District Election Officer Subhrant Kumar Shukla. In the election results declared on Tuesday, Akhilesh Yadav defeated his nearest rival, Subrata Pathak of the BJP, from the Kannauj seat by 170,922 votes. Yadav was first elected in the Kannauj Lok Sabha by-election in 2000.
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