Uttar Pradesh elections results: Five things that may have gone against Akhilesh Yadav

Akhilesh Yadav’s slogan for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections—‘Kam Bolta Hai'— failed to make the right noise for his party.

So why didn't the high-decibel, power-packed alliance with Congress work? Here's what may have gone wrong for the Samajwadi Party.

Heartburn
Akhilesh's alliance with Congress seems to have worked against him. The alliance meant SP candidates had to give away 105 seats, some of which could have helped mustered the numbers. The Congress camp had to part with 298 seats. There were murmurs in the Samajwadi camp over the seat sharing arrangement and this could have led to some party members working against the leaders.

Family dispute
The family tussle played out on national television could be another factor. Akhilesh tried to portray a clean image by not bowing down to his father Mulayam Singh Yadav's political choices but that attempt seems to have misfired. The family feud not only hit Akhilesh’s own image but also the fortunes of the Samajwadi Party.

Alliance with Rahul Gandhi
SP’s decision to give 105 seats to Congress did not work for the party. BJP's master strategist Amit Shah was sure that Rahul Gandhi would once again prove that Congress is a sinking ship. Shah said that a party (SP) that decided to go for a 403-seat Assembly with just 298 seats in hand could not win an election.

Modi wave
The PM's back-to-back rallies ensured the Modi wave was intact in the state. Whenever the BJP has fought elections on the development plank, it has marched towards victory. The saffron party managed to keep the Ram Mandir issue on the back-burner, focusing more on the development plan that worked well for the party.

Subtle polarisation
Modi used it in the later stages of the campaigning. His kabristan remark may have helped deepen the faultlines to some extent, helping the party consolidate the position it is in now.