Uttar Pradesh: INDIA bloc leading in 43 seats, BJP-led NDA in 36; Smriti Irani trailing

Lucknow: The INDIA bloc was leading in 43 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and the BJP-led NDA in 36, according to trends on the Election Commission website.

INDIA bloc parties SP and Congress were leading in 34 and nine seats, respectively, the election panel's data for polls to the 80 parliamentary constituencies in the state showed.

The BJP was leading in 34 seats and its ally RLD in two.

Chandrashekhar of Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) was leading by 53,250 votes over BJP's Om Kumar.

Among the prominent leaders who have taken comfortable leads over their rivals are Narendra Modi in Varanasi, Rajnath Singh in Lucknow, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Dimple Yadav in Kannauj and Mainpuri respectively, Congress candidates Rahul Gandhi and Kishori Lal Sharma in Rae Bareli and Amethi respectively.

The BJP's Arun Govil and Hema Malini were also ahead of their rivals in the Meerut and Mathura seats respectively.

Former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's son Karan Bhushan Singh is leading by 40,449 votes over SP's Bhagat Ram in Kaiserganj.

Brij Bhushan was denied ticket by the party this time and his son was given chance due to the controversy due to women wrestlers' allegation of sexual harassment against them.

Senior BJP leaders Smriti Irani, Ajay Mishra Teni and Maneka Gandhi and Anupriya Patel of the Apna Dal(S) were trailing in the Amethi, Kheri, Sultanpur and Mirzapur seats respectively.

On the Faizabad seat in Ayodhya district, the BJP's Lallu Singh is trailing by 5,326 votes against the SP's Awadhesh Prasad.