Samajwadi’s Best Performance Ever in Lok Sabha Elections! Wins 37 seats

Alright, folks, grab your popcorn because we’ve got some juicy political drama for you! The Samajwadi Party (SP) just had its best run in the Lok Sabha general elections, bagging a whopping 37 seats. Can you believe that? They’ve climbed up to become the third largest party in the country. And get this – they did it by focusing on caste mobilization and steering clear of the usual religious drama. Smart move, right?

Samajwadi Party’s Clever Alliance and a Winning Strategy

Remember the last elections when Samajwadi Party teamed up with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)? Yeah, that didn’t go so well – they only won five seats. But this time around, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav took charge and led the opposition’s campaign in Uttar Pradesh (UP) with a slick strategy. They contested 62 seats under their alliance and even roped in Congress for 17 seats, plus one for Trinamool Congress. Talk about a power move! This alliance wasn’t just about sharing seats – it sent a clear message to the voters that there’s a solid alternative to BJP on the national stage.

And guess what? The unity within the Yadav family was on point this time. Unlike in 2019, when Shivpal Singh had split from SP, this time they stuck together, and that good family vibe totally worked in their favor.

Caste Dynamics and Smart Candidate Selection

SP played their cards right with the PDA formula (let’s just say it’s their secret sauce). Instead of going all-in on Yadav and Muslim candidates, they gave a big chunk of the spotlight to the Kurmi community and other general castes like Brahmins and Thakurs. This inclusive approach won them unexpected success.

Akhilesh Yadav was a total pro, avoiding any controversial statements from Swami Prasad Maurya and staying silent on the Ram Mandir Prana Pratishtha issue. Instead, he started building a massive temple in Etawah, cleverly dodging BJP’s attempts to corner him on religious matters.

Akhilesh focused on hot topics like constitutional rights and caste-based reservations. He also hit hard on issues like unemployment, thanks to the paper leak and Agniveer controversies. This strategy clearly paid off big time.

The Yadav Stronghold Triumph

Here’s where things get spicy. This was the first Lok Sabha election after the death of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, and BJP pulled out all the stops to win over his stronghold.

They had Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav, PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and UP CM Yogi Adityanath all holding public meetings in the area. But SP’s social engineering in ticket distribution worked wonders. They even managed to sway voters from traditionally BJP-supporting Shakya and Dohri communities.

Dimple Yadav, Akhilesh’s wife, crushed it in Mainpuri, winning by a huge margin of 2.21 lakh votes with 56.79% of the vote share. SP’s vote bank saw a nice bump here, from 53.75% in 2019 to 56.79% this time around.

Crushing the Opposition in Key Battlegrounds

In Etawah, the political battle between the Katheria and Dohre communities was fierce. BJP stuck with MP Ramshankar Katheria, but Samajwadi Party’s Jitendra Singh Dohre, a former BSP member, won by about 58,000 votes. SP’s vote share jumped to 47%, while BJP’s fell to 41.82%.

Akhilesh Yadav himself won big in Kannauj, beating BJP’s Subrat Pathak by 1.70 lakh votes. The numbers say it all: SP’s vote share went from 48.29% in 2019 to 52.74% this time, while BJP’s dropped to 38.71%.

In Firozabad, Samajwadi Party’s Akshay Pratap Yadav took down BJP’s Vishwadeep Singh by about 89,000 votes. Samajwadi Party got 49.09% of the votes, up from 43.41% in 2019, while BJP fell to 40.98%.

Even in Etah, Devesh Shakya of SP beat BJP’s Rajveer Singh Raju by around 25,000 votes. SP’s share rose to 47.07%, and BJP’s dropped from 54.52% in 2019 to 44.34%.

BJP’s Hat-Trick in Farrukhabad

But hold on, not everything was rosy for SP. BJP’s Mukesh Rajput managed a hat-trick in Farrukhabad, winning by just 2,678 votes. He got 47.2% of the votes, just edging out SP’s Dr. Naval Kishore Shakya, who got 46.94%. Still, it was a close call, and SP managed to increase its vote share significantly.

So there you have it! SP’s masterful strategy and smart alliances brought them their best performance ever in the Lok Sabha elections. Akhilesh Yadav played his cards right, focusing on social engineering and avoiding religious controversies, and it totally paid off. Stay tuned for more political drama!