Lucknow: BJP veteran and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh won by over 1.2 lakh votes from Lucknow Lok Sabha Constituency, according to the latest ECI data.
Singh, eyeing a hattrick, was pitted against sitting SP MLA Ravidas Mehrotra and BSP's Sarvar Malik. He got 596514 (+125091) against Mehrotra who polled 471423.
Retaining Lucknow for the third time has further consolidated Rajnath Singh's popularity in the constituency, which has been BJP's bastion for over three decades, largely owing to the enduring popularity of its longest-served MP, the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
During his campaigns, Rajnath Singh, unlike most other saffron party leaders, sought votes citing the infrastructural development in Uttar Pradesh capital and the 'development plank' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
His rival, senior Samajwadi Party leader Ravidas Mehrotra, the current and two-time MLA of Lucknow central, was banking on anti-incumbency and the consolidation of Muslim votes and a section of upper castes to end BJP's stronghold.
Lucknow has been with BJP since 1991 and was held by Vajpayee between 1991 and 2004, followed by Lalji Tandon once and then Singh since 2014. Singh, often seen as a reflection of Vajpayee here, never misses to invoke his name.
2024 polls: The total number of registered voters in the Lucknow constituency in 2024 polls was 2172171 and the seat saw a voting turnout of 52.28% (1135624 votes polled), according to the Election Commission’s data released on May 25, 2024. The seat went to polls in phase 5 on May 20, 2024.
In the 2019 LS Polls, Rajnath Singh won from the constituency polling 633026 votes comprising 56.70% of the total number of votes polled. Rajnath, a former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, defeated Samajwadi Party candidate Poonam Shatrughan Sinha, by a margin of 3,47,302 votes. Singh had won Lucknow in the 2014 polls too, getting 561106 votes (54.27%) and defeating then Congress candidate Rita Bahuguna Joshi by a margin of 2,72,749 votes. During the first term of the Narendra Modi government, Rajnath Singh was the Union Home Minister.
