People voted for protecting Constitution, reservation, democracy: SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav

KANNAUJ: Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said that in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, people voted for protecting the Constitution, reservation and democracy.

"The votes were cast to save the Constitution, democracy and reservation, and we hope that by walking on the path of social justice we will be able to fulfil the dreams of Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) and Samajwadis," Akhilesh Yadav told ANI.

Asked about if the INDIA bloc would be able to form the government at the Centre, he said that it was all about numbers.

"Yes, I am going to Delhi (to attend the INDIA bloc meeting). It is all a matter of numbers (govt formation). The public has rejected negative politics. We aimed to stop the BJP. I thank the public for this and their cooperation," he said.

Akhilesh Yadav won the Kannauj Lok Sabha constituency with a vote margin of 1,70,922 defeating BJP's Subrat Pathak who was the incumbent.

"I want to assure the people of Kannauj that speed of development that Samajwadis gave to Kannauj, we will take it forward," Akhilesh Yadav said.

INDIA alliance did well in Uttar Pradesh, winning 44 Lok Sabha seats out of 80 while the NDA tally was reduced to 35 from 62 seats in 2019.

The SP got the largest kitty of 37 seats while the BJP came second with 33 seats.

Congress bagged six seats, and the RLD, ASPKR and ADAL won one seat each.

The counting of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was held on Tuesday. According to the Election Commission of India, the BJP won 240 seats, much lower than its 2019 tally of 303.

The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong improvement, winning 99 seats. The INDIA bloc crossed the 230 mark, posing stiff competition, and defying all predictions.