I thank the people of Noida for believing in me again. People have accepted our development work which we have done in last 5 years. I assure the people of Noida that I will work to develop Noida: Pankaj Singh, BJP candidate from Noida seat

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav won Karhal seat by a margin of 67,504 votes.

We had said before that Holi will start from March 10. It's a 'victory 4' by our NDA workers. I thank all voters for participating in this festival of democracy& ensuring BJP this victory. For the first time, a CM will be elected for a second term: PM Modi on UP Elections

The election results have put a stamp on the schemes launched by PM Modi. People have continuously voted for BJP. Since 2014 people are blessing BJP. This is the first time that a Chief Minister came into power again in UP: BJP president JP Nadda

Shivpal Yadav who fought on Samajwadi Party's ticket wins from Jaswant Nagar

The Aam Aadmi Party appeared uncertain to win a single seat in the Uttar Pradesh polls as its vote share was less than NOTA on Thursday evening, with a senior party leader saying the 2022 elections were about taking the party's idea to the people of the state.

UP public has decided to give power to BJP; I respect the decision of public. I thank AIMIM's state pres, workers, members, & the public who voted for us. Our efforts were quite a lot, but the results didn't come as per our expectations. We'll work hard again: AIMIM chief A Owaisi

"All political parties trying to hide their defeat by raising EVM issues, it's not EVM's fault, but the chip in people's minds. There has been a success but it's 80-20. We'll start working again from tomorrow & I believe we'll do better next time. Minorities of Uttar Pradesh have been used as vote banks only. BJP won in Lakhimpur Kheri as well, that's why I'm saying it's an 80-20 win; this 80-20 situation will stay for years. People need to understand that. Our spirits are still high"

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the BJP's "grand victory" in Uttar Pradesh is the result of the people's faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's welfare programmes for villages, the poor and farmers. He also said that the state's people have put their stamp on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's good governance and an administration free from fear and corruption.

With results of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls pouring in, the BJP has won on 16 seats and is leading on 236, while its rival Samajwadi Party is leading on 115 seats. The Apna Dal (Sonelal) and the NISHAD party, both BJP allies, are leading on 11 seats and seven seats respectively, according to the Election Commission (EC) website. The Rashtriya Lok Dal, which contested the polls along with the Samajwadi Party (SP), is leading on eight seats. The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party is leading on five seats. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is leading only on one seat, while Congress candidates are leading on two seats, the EC website showed. The Janata Dal Loktantrik of Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya is leading on two seats.

Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah arrives at BJP Headquarters in Delhi. The party emerged victorious in Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

While the BJP threw a pantheon of star campaigners, Akhilesh Yadav's was virtually the lone face of his Samajwadi Party in the Uttar Pradesh elections. From distributing tickets to choosing allies, it was the SP president's one-man show. At 48, he is a year younger to Yogi Adityanath, the UP chief minister and the man he hoped to send "back to Gorakhpur". That didn't happen and the BJP appeared set for another term in office. Yadav fought hard, but his party trailed well behind the BJP.

Mukhtar Ansari's son Abbas heading towards win over BJP's Ashok Kumar

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra led the party's campaign in the assembly elections in five states but failed to work their magic at the hustings with political observers saying the "huge setback" has left their "brand value diminished". Congress general secretary in-charge Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi addressed 209 rallies and roadshows, the maximum by any top leader during the UP election campaign, followed closely by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who spoke at 203 poll events. Though Priyanka Gandhi was focussed on Uttar Pradesh, she also campaigned for the polls in Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur and Punjab. Rahul Gandhi also held several rallies in Punjab, Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Lucknow: Former ED officer and BJP candidate Rajeshwar Singh is leading by a margin of more than 13,000 votes over his nearest Samajwadi Party rival in the Sarojini Nagar assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow. Singh has got 42,284 votes while Abhishek Mishra has 28,371 votes, according to updates on the Election Commission website at 3 pm. Mishra is considered to be a trusted lieutenant of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav. Singh was serving as the joint director of the federal probe agency at its zonal office in Lucknow and he took voluntary retirement from service (VRS), which was approved by the Centre in January.

Pankaj singh makes a new record in politics, wins noida assembly by 1.80 Lakh votes approximately, says BJP source. READ STORY

READ FULL STORY HERE |

In Unnao, Congress candidate Asha Singh, the mother of rape survivor was completely trumped in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections as till the tenth round of counting she managed to secure just 438 votes.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is not at fault, he contested on his own. He shouldn't think about the polling results as he has higher stature in this country. He has fought better than before: NCP chief Sharad Pawar

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav maintained a comfortable lead from Karhal constituency of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, according to latest poll trends. Yadav had secured 48,379 votes so far while his nearest rival Union Minister SP Singh Baghel got 19,243 votes, according to the Election Commission. Karhal seat is considered as a stronghold of the SP. Yadav has so far got 67.15 per cent votes while Baghel got 26.71 per cent votes. Akhilesh, who is MP from Azamgarh, is contesting the assembly election for the first time.

BJP government will be formed again in UP, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa in all the four states, Modi's magic remains intact in the whole country, says BJP's Keshav Prasad Maurya

BJP Deoband candidate and sitting MLA Brijesh Singh has taken comfortable lead, winning 33,466 votes so far. Samajwadi Party's Kartikey Rana has got 21,920 votes while BSP's Rajendra Singh has pocketed 25,093 votes. Rahat Khalil of Congress and Umair Madani of AIMIM have got 378 and 815 votes, respectively.

OP Rajbhar of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party leading from Zahoorabad constituency

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya is trailing from Sirathu seat by about 400 votes on Thursday, according to poll trends. After the initial round of counting, Maurya secured 6,345 votes while his nearest rival SP's Pallavi Patel got 6,710 votes, according to the EC.

The ruling BJP seems to be on course to retain power in Uttar Pradesh, with poll trends on Thursday showing the party leading in 247 seats as against 103 of its nearest rival Samajwadi Party. The state has 403 assembly seats and 202 seats are needed to form a majority government. Trends are available for 391 seats so far. Prominent candidates who have secured a lead include Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav from Karhal, Shivpal Yadav from Jaswant Nagar, and Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya from Sirathu. The BSP and the Congress were leading in five and four seats respectively. The Apna Dal (Sonelal) was leading in 11 seats and the RLD in seven, according to latest trends. Two candidates of the Jansatta Dal, including Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya in Kunda seat, were leading. Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra Mona was leading in Rampur Khas constituency by over 500 votes. BJP candidate and minister Shrikant Sharma was leading from Mathura constituency. The BJP candidate is leading in the temple town of Ayodhya over his nearest SP rival. According to the website of Election Commission, Ved Prakash Gupta of the BJP is leading over his SP rival Tej Narayan alias Pawan Pandey by 656 votes.

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party on Thursday said initial trends in Uttar Pradesh were "not authentic" and asked its workers to stay put at local assembly election offices till the counting of votes ends. The Akhilesh Yadav-led SP claimed the initial trends, which showed the BJP leading in majority of the 403 seats in the state, were only to "create a perception" that the saffron party was winning. "These trends are not authentic, a perception is being made that BJP is winning, so that the morale of the workers can be broken and results manipulated dishonestly after 3 PM. It is an appeal to the workers to stay put at the spot till the last results!" the Samajwadi Party's media cell tweeted in Hindi. Counting of votes for the UP assembly elections was underway on Thursday.

Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya is trailing from Fazilnagar. BJP's Surendra Kumar Kushwaha is leading from the seat. While Prasad has secured 6,736 votes, Kushwaha has pocketed 11,914 votes.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was leading from Gorakhpur Urban seat by about 4,000 votes on Thursday, according to poll trends available. After the initial round of counting, Adityanath secured 5,540 votes while his nearest rival SP's Subhawati Shukla got 1076 votes, according to the EC. Chandra Shekhar of the Azad Samaj Praty got only 133 votes.

Senior Samajwadi Party leader Mohd Azam Khan is leading in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur constituency by about 4000 votes, according to poll trends. After the initial round of counting, Azam got 5,090 votes while his BJP rival Akash Saxena got 1,006 votes, according to the EC. SP candidate Khan is presently lodged in Sitapur jail in connection with a number of cases lodged against him in Rampur district.

Bharatiya Janata Party crosses majority mark in Uttar Pradesh with 308 seats and Uttarakhand, in early trends

Shivpal Singh Yadav, who has been given ticket by Samajwadi Party, trails from Jaswantnagar Assembly constituency, as per EC trends

BJP's Shalabh Mani Tripathi (4157 votes) leads in Deoria, SP's Ajay Singh Pintu trails with 2075 votes

Administration has taken stringent action against suspicious movements of EVMs but opposition parties are creating ruckus, they've already started blaming EVMs for their defeat in assembly elections, says UP cabinet min Sidharth Nath Singh

BJP's Manish Kumar ahead in Padrauna seat by 3000 votes

Samajwadi Party's Azam Khan leads in Rampur by over 4000 votes

Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath leading by over 4,000 votes in Gorakhpur Sadar seat

Ghaziabad: BJP's Sunil Sharma ahead from Sahibabad seat

Early trends: BJP leads in 130 seats, SP in 64

Counting has started with postal ballots while EVMs will be opened shortly, security forces are strictly monitoring the counting process along with local police and three tier security system: Suhas LY, DM Gautam Budh Nagar

BJP turncoat Swami Prasad Maurya trails from Fazilnagar. Akhilesh's uncle Shivpal Yadav ahead in Jaswant Nagar

Postal ballots are counted in early trends.

Early trends: BJP ahead in 35 seats, SP in 15 seats. Others yet to open their books

Early trends: BJP ahead in four seats. Agra Cant one of them.

BJP is ruining democracy, somewhere ballot papers are being caught while somewhere EVMs are being caught (suspicious movement of EVMs). People have made their minds to demolish BJP's untruths and lies this time: SP leader Naresh Uttam Patel in Lucknow

The counting of votes for the 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh began on Thursday morning with a three-layer security in place and cameras installed at all centres. VVPAT (voter-verified paper audit trail) slips of five machines will be counted in every Assembly constituency. The official said cameras have been installed at all counting centres. Security arrangements have been put in place and senior officials are maintaining a close watch on the counting process, especially after some political parties raised some objections, he said. A three-layer security has been set up. This includes the central police forces, provincial armed constabulary and the state police. the official said. Police said 250 CAPF companies have been deployed. A CAPF company usually has around 70-80 personnel.

The BJP had won a landslide victory in 2017 winning 312 seats on its own while NDA's figure was 325. The Samajwadi Party bagged 47 seats, BSP 19 and the Congress had won seven seats.

At least 12 exit polls have predicted that Yogi Adityanath is going to retain Uttar Pradesh for the second consecutive term as Chief Minister. READ STORY

Exit Poll Uttar Pradesh 2022: Ahead of March 10 result day, India TV has come up with exit poll of 30 VIP seats in Uttar Pradesh. READ STORY

Counting agents of various parties are arriving at the counting centres. Postal ballots will be opened at 8am, followed by counting of votes recorded in EVMs. Counting process is expected to be complete by the evening. Sec 144 imposed in Varanasi Commissionerate area, DM Varanasi informed.

The counting of votes for the crucial Uttar Pradesh assembly election results will commence at 8 am. Follow all updates here.