UP Lok Sabha election results 2019 Highlights: Looking forward to serving Varanasi's people, says PM Modi

Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi towers over her opponents in a seat that has been with the grand old party since 1952 with three exceptions - 1977, 1996 and 1998. Sonia regained it in 1999 and has been winning since. This time, Sonia is facing Congress turncoat Dinesh Singh. Brahmins form 10% of the population while Muslims are 15% of the electorate. SP and BSP have decided to support Congress in both Rae Bareli and Amethi.

SP veteran Azam Khan faced his one-time political protégé, actor Jaya Prada in Rampur. He was instrumental in her win in 2004 when she had been para-dropped by SP on his home turf. However, Jaya Prada and her mentor Amar Singh were the main reason behind Khan's brief ouster from the party he had founded with Mulayam Singh Yadav, leading to an acrimonious battle this time where the discourse has stooped very low.

Counting for Allahabad and Phulpur parliamentary seats would begin at 8am at Mundra mandi of the city, first postal ballot would be counted. A total of 4732 postal ballot were cast for Phulpur seat and 2755 were for Allahabad seat. Phulpur was the parliamentary constituency of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

A large contingent of 1.5 lakh security personnel, drawn from central paramilitary forces (CPMF), provincial armed constabulary (PAC), state police and Home Guard, will keep vigil at 75 counting centres for 80 parliamentary constituencies in the state on Thursday. While the premises will be under CCTV camera and drone surveillance, a special unit of 100 cops will also monitor social media to curb rumour-mongering. IG (law and order) Praveen Kumar said arrangements had been made according to EC guidelines. A three-tier security system will be in place for Verdict Day, he said, adding that since the counting process is expected to take longer than usual this year, the guards will work in two shifts.

At least 12 companies of Central paramilitary forces were rushed to Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday on the request of Director General of Police (DGP), specifically for law and order deployment following the Union home ministry’s alert to contain violence or disruption in counting. District police chiefs have also been directed to ensure a complete ban on victory processions on Thursday.

All eyes are on the 13 seats of east UP where Prime Minister Narendra Modi, contesting from Varanasi, is expected to power BJP but where the saffron outfit is up against a test from the alliance of SP and BSP. Congress could also play spoiler through upper caste candidates who might eat into BJP votes to the grand alliance's benefit.

Determined to make Rahul Gandhi sweat on his home turf, the BJP yet again fielded Smriti Irani from the Amethi, the traditional bastion of Gandhi family. Irani ran an aggressive campaign against Congress, calling Rahul a "laapata" (missing) MP. BJP has also targeted Rahul for contesting from a second seat (Wayanad in Kerala). Meanwhile, Rahul accused BJP of setting up a "factory of lies" and distributing "rivers of cash to entice voters" in an emotional letter addressed to his "Amethi family".

Apart from SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, others who contested Lok Sabha 2019 were his son Akhilesh Yadav (Azamgarh), daughter-in-law Dimple (Kannauj), nephews Dharmendra (Badaun) and Akshay (Firozabad). His brother Shivpal Yadav is in the fray too but not fighting on an SP ticket after breaking away from the party and forming his own.

In 2019, the PM appears to have few challengers to his almost inevitable re-election from Varanasi. Five years ago, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had put up a spirited challenge and become a rallying face for the opposition. But this time the Gathbandhan and Congress seem to have given up the fight. Despite speculation that Priyanka may take Modi head-on in Varanasi, the Congress decided to field local leader Ajay Rai from the temple town. Not surprisingly, the debate among residents of Varanasi is not about whether Modi will win, but about his victory margin.

Despite most exit polls predicting a thumping victory for the NDA in 2019, the forecast for Uttar Pradesh was divided. The SP-BSP-RLD alliance was projected to win anywhere between 13 and 45 of the state's 80 seats in the various polls while the BJP was projected to bag anywhere between 22 to 68 seats.