Lok Sabha Polls 2024: BSP MP Ritesh Pandey joins BJP in big setback to Mayawati

Hours after resigning from the BSP, Ritesh Pandey joined the BJP in the presence of UP Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak and state in-charge Baijayant Panda. Ritesh Pandey, a Lok Sabha MP from Ambedkar Nagar, had resigned from the BSP earlier today. In the 2019 elections, when BSP and SP contested together, Pandey bagged the Ambedkar Nagar Lok Sabha seat by defeating BJP's Mukut Bihari by nearly 1 lakh votes. This time, BSP has decided to contest the polls alone while SP has allied with the Congress.  

As per India Today's Mood of the Nation opinion poll, the BJP is likely to increase its seats in Uttar Pradesh and win around 70 seats in the Lok Sabha election while keeping its vote share of 50 per cent intact. In the 2019 poll, BJP had won 62 seats and its ally Apna Dal (S) 2 seats.

Overall, the NDA is likely to secure 52 per cent of the total votes in Uttar Pradesh, bagging 72 seats with support from Anupriya Patel's Apna Dal (S).

The opinion poll predicts a decimation for the Opposition INDIA bloc, giving it less than 10 seats. While the Samajwadi Party is expected to get 7 seats, the survey gave Congress just one. In the 2019 general election, the Akhilesh Yadav-led party had bagged 5 of the total 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh while Mayawati's BSP had won 10 seats. 

This time, the SP will contest 63 seats while Congress will fight on 17 seats. As per the pact, Congress will field candidates on its strongholds -- Raebareli and Amethi. Additionally, the party will also contest Lok Sabha seats of Kanpur Nagar, Fatehpur Sikri, Basgaon, Saharanpur, Prayagraj, Maharajganj, Amroha, Jhansi, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Sitapur, Barabanki, and Deoria.

Notably, Congress will also field its candidate on Varanasi seat, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.