<p>Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav&#39;s assertion that he could align with Mayawati&#39;s BSP has created a political firestorm with the BJP declaring that the chief minister has already &quot;conceded defeat&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Union minister Kiren Rijiju said, &quot;Counting<em> </em><em>se</em><em> </em><em>pehle</em><em> hee </em><em>haar</em><em> </em><em>maan</em><em> </em><em>liya</em> (he has conceded defeat even before counting). What should I say on this?&quot;</p>

<p>Speaking to BBC radio Hindi yesterday Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had said he wanted to keep the BJP out in Uttar Pradesh for that he was ready to align with Samajwadi Party&#39;s long-time rival Mayawati, the chief of Bahujan Samaj Party.</p>

<h3><a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/india-assembly-elections-2017-exit-polls-bjp-has-advantage-in-3-states-13234">Also </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/india-assembly-elections-2017-exit-polls-bjp-has-advantage-in-3-states-13234">Read:</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/india-assembly-elections-2017-exit-polls-bjp-has-advantage-in-3-states-13234">&nbsp;India Assembly Elections 2017 Exit Polls: BJP has advantage in 3 states</a></h3>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The seven-phase Uttar Pradesh elections ended on March 8, the results are due to be declared tomorrow. <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/india-assembly-elections-2017-exit-polls-bjp-has-advantage-in-3-states-13234">Most exit polls have put the BJP ahead in Uttar Pradesh with the SP-Congress alliance </a>set to finish a distant second but Mayawati&#39;s BSP who is expected to finish third could end up as a &#39;kingmaker&#39; if either the BJP or the SP-Congress fail to get the required 202 seats&nbsp;in the 403 member House.</p>

<h3><a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/muslims-understand-majority-govt-can-be-formed-without-their-support-but-be-careful-about-splitting-up-13223">Also Read:&nbsp;&#39;Muslims understand majority govt can be formed without their support... but be careful about splitting UP&#39;</a></h3>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>(WION)</p>


Union minister Kiren Rijiju said UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav "has conceded defeat even before counting".

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's assertion that he could align with Mayawati's BSP has created a political firestorm with the BJP declaring that the chief minister has already "conceded defeat" Union minister Kiren Rijiju said, "Counting se pehle hee haar maan liya (he has conceded defeat even before counting). What should I say on this?" Speaking to BBC radio Hindi yesterday Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had said he wanted to keep the BJP out in Uttar Pradesh for that he was ready to align with Samajwadi Party's long-time rival Mayawati, the chief of Bahujan Samaj Party. Also Read: India Assembly Elections 2017 Exit Polls: BJP has advantage in 3 states The seven-phase Uttar Pradesh elections ended on March 8, the results are due to be declared tomorrow. Most exit polls have put the BJP ahead in Uttar Pradesh with the SP-Congress alliance set to finish a distant second but Mayawati's BSP who is expected to finish third could end up as a 'kingmaker' if either the BJP or the SP-Congress fail to get the required 202 seats in the 403 member House. Also Read: 'Muslims understand majority govt can be formed without their support... but be careful about splitting UP' (WION)

Akhilesh's tie-up with Mayawati? BJP says UP chief minister has already conceded defeat

<p>Polling for the 40 remaining seats in the Uttar Pradesh elections ended today evening as the seventh and final phase came to a close. Voter&nbsp;turnout recorded till 5pm&nbsp;was&nbsp;60.03 per cent, ANI reported.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Voting for seventh phase of Uttar Pradesh elections ends, visuals from Mirzapur <a href="https://t.co/s2zMyHSW8o">pic.twitter.com/s2zMyHSW8o</a></p>
&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/839443803387871233">March 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Over 1.41 crore voters were&nbsp;eligible to exercise their franchise in the seventh and last phase of the assembly elections, including 76.87 lakh men and 64.99 lakh women.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">People queue up at polling booth no. 68 in Varanasi North; BJP&#39;s Ravindra Jaiswal, BSP&#39;s Sujit Kumar Maurya contesting from the seat <a href="https://t.co/RYZQtr4NNV">pic.twitter.com/RYZQtr4NNV</a></p>
&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/839303470410653696">March 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>A total of 535 candidates, including 51 women, were in the fray for the 40 assembly seats spread across seven districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh known as Poorvanchal.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Voting for seventh phase of Uttar Pradesh elections ends, visuals from Mirzapur <a href="https://t.co/s2zMyHSW8o">pic.twitter.com/s2zMyHSW8o</a></p>
&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/839443803387871233">March 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Voting was brisk with twenty-two per cent recorded till 11 am. The results of the seven-phase elections will be announced on March 11.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi casts his vote at booth number 76 of Varanasi North. <a href="https://t.co/KSQtloFFfn">pic.twitter.com/KSQtloFFfn</a></p>
&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/839341499401785344">March 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>The BJP is contesting in 32 seats and its allies - the Apana Dal and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party - are contesting on four seats each.</p>

<p>The BSP is fighting in all 40 seats while the Samajwadi Party is contesting 31 seats, its ally the Congress is in the&nbsp;race for the remaining seats.The counting of votes will take place on March 11.</p>

<p>All eyes were&nbsp;on Prime Minister Modi&#39;s constituency Varanasi after he spent three days campaigning&nbsp;there and was later joined in the race by the opposition chief minister Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi along with former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati of the BSP.</p>

<p>(WION with agency input)</p>


Voter?turnout in the last phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh was 60.03 per cent

Polling for the 40 remaining seats in the Uttar Pradesh elections ended today evening as the seventh and final phase came to a close. Voter turnout recorded till 5pm was 60.03 per cent, ANI reported. Voting for seventh phase of Uttar Pradesh elections ends, visuals from Mirzapur pic.twitter.com/s2zMyHSW8o — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017 × Over 1.41 crore voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in the seventh and last phase of the assembly elections, including 76.87 lakh men and 64.99 lakh women. People queue up at polling booth no. 68 in Varanasi North; BJP's Ravindra Jaiswal, BSP's Sujit Kumar Maurya contesting from the seat pic.twitter.com/RYZQtr4NNV — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017 × A total of 535 candidates, including 51 women, were in the fray for the 40 assembly seats spread across seven districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh known as Poorvanchal. Voting for seventh phase of Uttar Pradesh elections ends, visuals from Mirzapur pic.twitter.com/s2zMyHSW8o — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017 × Voting was brisk with twenty-two per cent recorded till 11 am. The results of the seven-phase elections will be announced on March 11. BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi casts his vote at booth number 76 of Varanasi North. pic.twitter.com/KSQtloFFfn — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017 × The BJP is contesting in 32 seats and its allies - the Apana Dal and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party - are contesting on four seats each. The BSP is fighting in all 40 seats while the Samajwadi Party is contesting 31 seats, its ally the Congress is in the race for the remaining seats.The counting of votes will take place on March 11. All eyes were on Prime Minister Modi's constituency Varanasi after he spent three days campaigning there and was later joined in the race by the opposition chief minister Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi along with former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati of the BSP. (WION with agency input)

Uttar Pradesh elections: Polling ends in final phase, all eyes on results

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Akhilesh's tie-up with Mayawati? BJP says UP chief minister has already conceded defeat

Uttar Pradesh elections: Polling ends in final phase, all eyes on results