BJP clean sweep in Varanasi, winning all eight seats in the district which falls under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency.
The BJP won six out of the 10 seats in the two districts, four of them in Amethi, Congress’ vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha constituency. The Congress lost all four seats it contested in Amethi.
In 2012, the BJP had not won a single seat in Amethi and Rae Bareli.
The increased turnout in Varanasi this time, by an average 3.47%, also transformed into a high score for the BJP. Mr. Modi’s high-pitched campaign in Varanasi, where he addressed three rallies and held two massive road shows, paid rich dividends as the BJP and its allies registered big wins in the district.
In Varanasi North, the BJP’s incumbent Ravindra Jaiswal, who had scraped past by only 2300 votes last time, registered a thumping win. While he got 1,16017 votes, the Congress’ Abdul Samad Ansari got 70515. The BSP’s Sujeet Kumar Maurya, stood a distant third with 32574.
In the crucial Varanasi South seat, where the BJP faced hiccups in the shape of veteran MLA Shyamdev Rai Chaudhary expressing his annoyance over denial of ticket, the party also won comfortably. His replacement Neelkanth Tiwari got 92,560 votes against the Congress’ Rajesh Mishra’s 75334 in a two-way contest.
The BJP also retained the third urban seat in Varanasi, Varanasi Cantonment. Saurabh Srivastava defeated the Congress’ Anil Srivastava by a huge margin of 61326.
The BJP also easily secured the other five seats in Varanasi. In Shivpur, the BJP’s Anil Rajbhar got 1,10453 votes while the SP’s Anand Mohan stood second with 56194. In Ajagara, the BJP’s alliance partner, the SBSP secured a win with a decent margin. Its candidate Kailash Nath Sonkar received 83778 votes while the SP’s Lalji Sonkar came second with 62429 and the BSP’s Tribhuvan Ram stood third with 52480.
In Rohania, where Mr. Modi held a rally, the BJP’s Surendra Narayan Singh defeat the SP’s Mahendra Singh Patel by a big margin. If Surendra received 1.19 lakh votes, Patel got 62000.
In Sevapuri, the BJP’s ally, the Apna Dal-led by Anupriya Patel defeated the SP’s minister Surendra Patel. Neel Ratan Singh Patel got 103423 while SP got 54241. A big shocker came in Pindra where Congress strongman Ajay Rai, a multiple-time incumbent, was reduced to the third spot. While the BJP’s Avadesh Singh won, with 90614 votes, the BSP stood second here with its nominee Babulal securing 53765.
The bigger embarrassment for the SP-Congress came in Rare Bareli and Amethi. In Rae Bareli, the BJP won two seats while standing close second on another two. In Amethi, the BJP won four, while the SP’s Rakesh Pratap Singh won Gauriganj, where the SP-Congress were both locked in a friendly fight.
The BJP won Bachhrawa and Sareni, where the Congress stood a miserable third. The Congress scraped past the BJP by a thin margin in Harchandpur, while the SP also won in a similar fashion in Unchahar. The saving grace came in the form of Aditi Singh, daughter of local strongman Akhilesh Singh, who secured a comfortable win. She got 128319 votes against the BSP’s 39156.
In Rampur, SP leader Azam Khan won comfortably. He got 102100 votes against the BJP’s Shiv Bahadur Saxena’s 55258. The BSP’s Tanveer Khan stood third.
In Amethi, the SP and Congress had to pay for their friendly fight. The BJP’s Garima Sinh beat out the challenge from the SP’s Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, who lost by 5000. Garima is the estranged first wife of Congress leader Sanjay Sinh. His present wife Ameeta Sinh was also in the fray and came fourth with 20,291.
In Jaswantnagar, Akhilesh Yadav’s estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav won comfortably. He secured a mammoth126834 votes. His nearest rival, the BJP’s Manish Yadav Patre got 74218.
In Suar, Azam’s son Abdullah had a winning debut. He got 106443 votes, while the BJP’s Laxmi Saini was a distant second.
There was bad news for the Yadav family. The BJp’S Rita Bahuguna Joshi defeated Aparna Yadav, Mulayam Singh’s younger daughter-in-law, in Lucknow Cantonment by 33795 votes. In Lucknow’s Sarojini Nagar, the BJP’s Swati Singh, wife of Daya Shankar Singh, defeated Akhilesh’s cousin Anurag Yadav by a big margin.
In Mau, controversial leader Mukhtar Ansari held his fort in a high scoring match. He beat the SBSP’s Mahendra Rajbhar, polling 96793. His debutant son Abbas Ansari, however, lost in Ghosi by 7000 votes despite polling an impressive 81000.
