Samajwadi Party: How did SP-Congress turn the tables in UP, is this the best performance of Akhilesh's party?

Today the results of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 are coming. In the trends, the contest in the country's largest state Uttar Pradesh looks interesting. A close contest is being seen between BJP and SP. BJP seems to be getting a big setback as compared to 2019. At the same time, SP seems to be performing its best in terms of vote percentage. Akhilesh Yadav's party also seems to be getting a big advantage due to the change in seats. It remains to be seen whether Akhilesh can perform the best in the electoral history of SP.

What does this performance of SP mean?

Samajwadi Party is seen winning around 35 seats in Uttar Pradesh. The ruling BJP is also expected to get around 35 seats. Trends show that the difference in seats between the two parties can be less than five. According to the data till 4 pm, BJP can win 36 and SP 33 seats. At the same time, the SP-Congress alliance seems to be winning 40 seats. If the trends turn into results, it will be said that SP and Congress benefited from the alliance. Both parties also transferred votes to each other. After these results, the opposition in Uttar Pradesh will have a new confidence. Along with this, the opposition will become more aggressive against the policies and decisions of the state government.

What is the reason for the increase in the seats of SP and Congress?

A big reason for the progress of SP and Congress was the decrease in the vote share of Mayawati's party BSP in Uttar Pradesh. It was once said about this party that about 20 percent of BSP's voters are such who stay completely with it. In this election, this vote share decreased to around nine percent. Dalit votes distancing from BSP and going towards the SP-Congress alliance was also a reason for this. At the same time, this alliance also benefited from Muslim votes voting en masse for the SP-Congress alliance.

Is this the best performance of SP in terms of vote share?

If we look at it in terms of vote share, this is the best performance of SP. In 2004, the party had won 35 seats. Then its vote share was 26.74 percent. In terms of vote share, the party's best performance was in 1998 when it got 28.7 percent votes. In that election, the party was successful in winning 20 seats. This time Samajwadi Party is seen getting more than 33 percent votes. At the same time, the Congress party, which contested the election in alliance with SP, can also get more than 10 percent votes. With this combination, this alliance is seen getting more than 43 percent of votes.

How was the performance of SP in the last elections?

In October 1992, Samajwadi leader Mulayam Singh Yadav founded the Samajwadi Party. Samajwadi Party contested its Lok Sabha election in the year 1996. The regional party of Uttar Pradesh got 16 seats in this election itself. In 1996, SP got 20.84% ​​votes in the state. The next Lok Sabha elections were held in 1998. In this election, SP increased its support base and the number of seats increased to 20. At the same time, 28.7% of votes went to the party's account.

In the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, SP's support base decreased but the number of seats increased. In this election, the party got 24.06% votes and its 26 MPs won and reached the Lok Sabha. In 2004, SP improved its performance further. In this election, SP got 35 seats. At the same time, 26.74% of people voted for the party.

The next Lok Sabha elections were held in 2009. In this election, SP's support base decreased and the number of seats also decreased. In this election, the party got 23.26% votes and its 23 MPs won and reached the Lok Sabha. In 2014, SP got only five seats. The party's vote share remained 22.18%. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, SP contested the elections in alliance with BSP. In this election, SP got 17.96% votes and its only five MPs won and reached the Lok Sabha. The vote percentage for SP was the lowest in this election.