MAYAJAAL: BSP supremo Mayawati addresses the media in Lucknow on Friday after her party's famous victory in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. — Photo: PTI/Nand Kumar

LUCKNOW: Mayawati will become Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for the fourth time. Powered by new socio-political undercurrents, her Bahujan Samaj Party swamped its opponents to emerge as the largest single party in India's most populous State as the results of the Assembly elections streamed in on Friday.

Ms. Mayawati's imaginative broad-basing strategy had triumphed. The BSP appeared set to take some 205 of the Assembly's 403 seats, confounding opinion and exit poll predictions of a hung House.

The Mulayam Singh-led Samajwadi Party trailed far behind with fewer than half the BSP's number, while the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress were in distant third and fourth positions with two-digit scores.

Ms. Mayawati's triumphant harvest of seats could end 14 years of coalition politics in the State. The BSP contested this time without any allies.

At a press conference she addressed after it became clear that she would form the Government, Ms. Mayawati did not specify any date for her installation as Chief Minister. The BSP Legislature Party meeting is likely on Saturday.

Earlier, Mr. Mulayam Singh handed in his resignation as Chief Minister to Governor T.V. Rajeswar, accepting defeat.

He held the Election Commission of India responsible for the SP's defeat.

According to information available by 9.45 p.m. from the Election Commission, the BSP had won 191, the SP 92, the BJP 49, the Indian National Congress 20, the Rashtriya Lok Dal 10, Independents and others 17 (when results from 379 constituencies had been announced).

The counting in 402 constituencies was under way. The election in Khaga, countermanded following the death of a candidate, will be held on May 24.

The BSP steadily maintained its lead through the day. The results and the lead positions started flowing in soon after the counting began in the morning.

Surprises

The verdict sprung many surprises.

Several political heavyweights and regional satraps from the SP, the BJP and the Congress were swept aside by the BSP juggernaut.

Among the prominent losers were former Vidhan Sabha Speaker and president of the state unit of the BJP Kesari Nath Tripathi, former president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee Jagdambika Pal, Apna Dal president Soney Lal Patel and former Minister Om Prakash Singh of the BJP. Others in the list included D.P. Yadav; dacoit Dadua's brother Bal Kumar and former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh's son Rajvir Singh.

Mr. Mulayam Singh won from both Bhartana and Gunnaur, and his brother Shivpal Singh Yadav from Jaswantnagar.

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