BJP maintained its stranglehold retaining its three seats and Samajwadi clinging to its tally of two seats leaving merely one seat for the Mayawati-led party.
VARANASI: The BSP's surge in other parts of Uttar Pradesh has left Varanasi district where BJP maintained its stranglehold retaining its three assembly seats and Samajwadi Party clinging to its tally of two seats leaving merely one seat for the Mayawati-led party.
The BJP retained Kolasala assembly constituency where its candidate Ajay Rai prevailed over BSP's Avdesh Singh by 4,956 votes to achieve a hat-trick while another Shyamdev Roychoudhury defeated Congress rival Daya Shankar Mishra by a margin of 13,742 votes to make it to the state assembly for a record sixth term.
The saffron party also maintained its dominant position in the city (cant) assembly constituency where its candidate Jyotsna Srivastava staved off the challenge from SP nominee Manoj Rai on way to victory by 5,420 votes.
While BJP performed impressively in the city (north) assembly constituency with its candidate Shivnath Yadav finishing second against winner Abdul Samad Ansari of SP, losing by a narrow margin of 2199 votes.
The SP retained the city (north) seat and also won from Gangapur constituency where its candidate Surendra Singh Patel defeated Apna Dal candidate Neel Ratan Singh Patel by 9,974 votes for his second straight term to the state assembly.
Patel had last time won the seat on Apna Dal ticket before switching over to SP.
The BSP made its presence felt by regaining Chiraigaon assembly seat with its candidate Udai Lal Maurya defeating his nearest Bharatiya Samaj Party candidate Radha Krishna 7239 votes in a multi-cornered contest in which SP candidate and a minister in Mulayam Singh Yadav government Virendra Singh stood third.
Singh had won Chiraigaon seat in 2003 bypoll on a BSP ticket and later shifted his allegiance to SP and was rewarded with a ministerial berth.
The BSP also bagged Saidpur assembly constituency as its candidate Dina Nath Pandey prevailed over BJP nominee Mahendra Nath Pandey by 12,644 votes in a battle between two Brahmins.
The poll outcome in the district brought mixed results for Congress as the roadshow held here by Rahul Gandhi helped some party candidates improve the vote percentage.
The Rahul factor was visible in the city (south), city (cant) and Gangapur assembly constituencies where Congress candidates polled more than 10,000 votes. However, the young MP's appeal failed to make an impact in the city (north) and Kolasala assembly constituencies where the party candidates polled 4068 and 2987 votes respectively.
The poll outcome also exposed chinks in the much-trumpeted pre-poll alliance between BJP and Apna Dal as neither of the two parties benefitted from each others' votebank in Gangapur and Chiraigaon assembly constituencies.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}