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ELECTIONS '96

Exit Poll: BJP sweeps Uttar Pradesh, might win 58

The Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to win as many as 58 Lok Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh in the present election, according to an Exit Poll. The poll was carried out by the Development and Research Services and telecast on Doordarshan on Saturday evening.

While the BJP will gain six seats from its previous 52, the other major contenders stand to lose. As per the Exit Poll, the BJP's main rival, the Samajwadi Party, is expected to win 17 seats, one less than before. Similarly, the Bahujan Samaj Party is likely to win 5 and the Congress 3, less by one and two respectively.

Last week's political crisis in UP made a slight difference. The party benefitted by 0.5 per cent, which translates into two extra seats.

Voting in UP was according to caste and religious lines. A whopping 77 per cent of the forward castes voted for the BJP. The Muslims voted predominantly for the Samajwadi Party with 52 per cent backing it, while 25 per cent supported the BSP, and only 12 per the Congress. The BJP won 9 per cent of Muslim support.

A majority of the Dalits, 52 per cent, voted for the BSP. However, the other backward class votes were divided between the three major parties in the state: BJP 44 per cent; SP 32 per cent; BSP 16 per cent; and Congress only 6 per cent.

Elections '98

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