LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party has crossed the half-way mark in the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections and looks all set to form the next government in the state. While the party has already won 168 seats, it is leading in 54 other seats, taking the total number to 222 as per the tally at around 5.40 pm.
Confident of the victory, party’s star campaigner Akhilesh Yadav has thanked the people of Uttar Pradesh and has assured that they would improve the law and order in the state.
He has said that the "credit for the victory goes to the hard work by leaders and workers".
The Samajwadi Party leader has also said that Mulayam Singh Yadav will be the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
Mulayam Singh, meanwhile, has given the credit for the win to Akhilesh Yadav and the people of the state, saying, "Akhilesh's hard work has shown results."
According to the tally at around 5.40 pm, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) stands second at 81. The Congress and RLD alliance has managed to lead in 37 seats while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 48 seats.
Meanwhile, the Congress has said that the onus of the poor performance of the party lies with the state leadership and not with general secretary Rahul Gandhi.
Speaking to CNN-IBN, UP Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi said, “I don’t see any reason why Rahul Gandhi should be blamed.”
The Congress also said that the results were against their expectation. However, it maintained that the party would have a say in the government formation in the state.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot said, "Our mission of ousting Mayawati government has been successful… the results are not on the expected lines."
The BJP has, however, expressed happiness over its performance, saying that they would sit in the opposition rather than supporting any party in the government formation.
BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap gave the credit of the performance to party president Nitin Gadkari, adding that the party had taken a decision to sit in the opposition.
Meanwhile, interestingly, the BSP office remains closed on the counting day.