Assembly polls: SP leading in Allahabad

The Samajwadi Party appears poised to sweep this district, home to the highest number of assembly segments across Uttar Pradesh, virtually turning the tables on its arch rival Bahujan Samaj Party which had taken Allahabad by the storm in the previous Vidhan Sabha polls.

While results for any of the 12 seats are yet to be out, Mulayam Singh Yadav's party has established leads in at least nine seats, ranging from an unassailable margin of over 36,000 votes in Handia to a wafer-thin 500 in Bara.

The BSP, which had won eight seats in the 2007 assembly polls when it also wrested power in the state, appears heading for a drubbing.

According to trends available so far, its candidates are leading in only three seats - Allahabad (West), Karachhana and the newly-carved out Koraon.

If trends are anything to go by, the assembly elections could be a complete wash-out for the BJP, which has failed to establish a lead in any of the dozen seats, while the Congress finds a saving grace in Allahabad (North) where the party is ahead of its nearest BSP rival by a comfortable margin of over 5,000 votes.