INDIA: BJP’S RECORD WIN IN UP, AAP SWEEPS PUNJAB

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers celebrate their party’s lead during counting day of Punjab elections in Mumbai. (PTI)

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Thu 10 March 2022:

The BJP is heading for a big win in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and the Aam Aadmi Party has scooped Punjab in mega elections seen as the semi-final before the 2024 national election. In Goa and Manipur too, the BJP is within striking distance.

Following are the top 10 points on Election Results:

The BJP is looking at a 250-plus tally in 403-seat Uttar Pradesh, with the Samajwadi Party, its main challenger, a distant second.
Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP is heading for a landslide win in Punjab with leads in close to 90 seats in the 117-seat assembly. The ruling Congress is trailing with 13 seats.
The Congress is also trailing in both Manipur and Goa, where it was the single largest party in 2017.
In Uttarakhand, the BJP has crossed majority mark with more than 45 seats in the 70-seat assembly. The Congress is trailing with less than 20 seats.
In 40-seat Goa, the BJP, ahead in 18 seats, said it will meet the Governor shortly. The BJP said it has the support of three Independents. Trinamool Congress ally MGP is ahead on four seats. Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party claimed debut with two seats and is ahead in one more.
Manipur, where the BJP is leading the race, appears headed for a hung assembly too. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma’s NPP (National People’s Party) has emerged as the second largest party, pushing Congress to the third position.
In Punjab, Congress stalwarts Navjot Sidhu and Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi have lost. Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who formed his own party after leaving the Congress, has lost as well from the Patiala Urban seat.Akali Dal’s Sukhbir Badal is trailing..
Celebrations started early for AAP’s Chief Ministerial candidate Bhagwant Singh Mann in Punjab, with sweets being prepared at his home and a giant stage being built in Sangrur, his home town.
Celebrations have started at the BJP office in Lucknow, with the Samajwadi Party trailing by more than 100 seats.
The BJP is set to be the first party to get a consecutive second term in more than three decades in Uttar Pradesh. The state, with 80 parliamentary seats, holds the key to power at the Centre.