Yogi Adityanath and Bhagwant Mann: The big winners of the day
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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have much to celebrate today – the former is set to retain power in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and nearly at the halfway mark in Goa and Manipur, while the latter posted a spectacular win in Punjab.
As counting wraps up, the day clearly belongs to the two men who created history in their respective states – incumbent Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and future Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann.
In UP, Mr Adityanath led the BJP to victory for a second straight term, breaking a jinx of more than a quarter century.
Mr Mann’s popularity with voters helped his party soar to a convincing win in Punjab – the first state outside Delhi where AAP will form a government. The victory will boost AAP’s national ambitions and encourage it to expand its presence in other states.
These are the other big takeaways from the day:
- In Manipur, incumbent chief minister N Biren Singh from the BJP defeated his Congress rival by a handsome margin
- Incumbent Goa CM Pramod Sawant survived a scare in Sanquelim before winning by a few hundred votes – but even if the BJP forms the government, there is no guarantee he will return as CM
- Some other incumbent and former chief ministers faced major disappointments.
- Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi lost from both the seats he contested, adding insult to the Congress’s injury
- Two other former CMs from Punjab, Amarinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal, also lost their seats. Mr Badal’s son Sukhbir Singh Badal also lost, outlining the major challenge before the 100-year-old Shiromani Akali Dal in the state
- Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami lost from Khatima even as his party, the BJP, was set to return to power in the state
- Giving him company was former CM Harish Rawat, who led the Congress’s campaign in the state – he lost from Lalkuwa
