SP leading in nine seats in Uttar Pradesh, BJP in two

LUCKNOW: Ruling Samajwadi Party was leading in nine seats, while BJP in two after first three hours of counting in Uttar Pradesh where bypolls were held for 11 Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat.

SP supremo Mulayam Singh's grand nephew Tej Pratap was leading over his nearest rival BJP's Prem Singh Shakya in Mainpuri Lok Sabha.

"While SP is leading in nine seats, BJP is ahead in two seats," an Election Commission official said here.

The Assembly seats where bypolls were held include Saharanpur city, Bijnor, Thakurdwara, Noida, Nighasan Lucknow east, Hamirpur, Charkhari, Sirathu, Balha and Rohania, as also in Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat which was vacated by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.

In Lucknow, former BJP MP Lalji Tandon's son Ashutosh Tandon is leading.

While BSP did not contest the bypoll, Congress and SP fielded candidates on all 11 Assembly seats, whereas BJP contested on 10 and its ally Apna Dal on one.

Stakes are high for BJP, Congress, Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh after the saffron party's near-total sweep of the 80 seats in Lok Sabha polls just four months.