Akhilesh’s political rivals said he has lost his nerve, while Samajwadi Party sources said it was an effort to shut the door on any possible backroom deal between the BSP and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Opposition leaders dismissed exit polls, which have largely given BJP majority, and claimed their party would win the elections.
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad said: “Like in Bihar elections, all the exit polls would fall flat in Uttar Pradesh where Samajwadi Party-Congress would emerge victorious.”
Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi said exit polls that gave the BJP an edge over other parties in Uttar Pradesh were “wrong” and claimed his party, in alliance with the SP, would win the elections. The BJP said it was confident of winning two-thirds majority in Uttar Pradesh. SP General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav said Akhilesh would get a second term as chief minister.
To read the full story, Subscribe Now at just Rs 249 a month
Already a subscriber? Log in
Subscribe To BS Premium
₹249
Renews automatically
₹1699₹1999
Opt for auto renewal and save Rs. 300 Renews automatically
₹1999
What you get on BS Premium?
- Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app.
- Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them.
- Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006.
- Preferential invites to Business Standard events.
- Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more.
Need More Information - write to us at assist@bsmail.in