Parties claim they swept the first phase of UP polls

A day after the first phase of polling, major parties in Uttar Pradesh claimed that they have swept the round and were on the road to form government in the politically crucial state.
Samajwadi Party party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that the downfall of those who had "befooled" the people promising "achche din" has started while Mayawati asserted that she will prove pollsters wrong as she did in 2007 when they predicted her defeat.
BJP Chief Amit Shah claimed 'achhe din' will come in Uttar Pradesh after counting of votes on March 11.
Claiming that SP was ahead of rivals in the first phase, Akhilesh said the trend will continue and the alliance will get majority.

"We could have got majority alone, but after alliance with Congress we will comfortably win over 300 seats," Akhilesh said in Badaun.
"The downfall of those who had befooled people promising 'achche din' has started. After 2017, they will be wiped out in 2019 also. They (BJP) should tell as to what have they done for people," he said.

Addressing a rally in Sitapur, Mayawati claimed it was a "clean sweep" for BSP in the first phase.
"The first phase of UP polls was encouraging for BSP. It was a clean sweep for our party. It's a positive signal that we are going to form government in the state," she told an election rally here.

She dubbed as "fake" the surveys and opinion polls that said BSP will not come to power and said that they will be proved wrong as in 2007, when her party got majority.
"You should not believe in such surveys. If BSP came to power all development schemes will be restarted and names of schemes and places that were changed will be restored," she said.
Shah said BSP is the main rival from BJP in first two phases of Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and Samajwadi Party in the rest five.
"As per the trend of first phase, we will get more than 50 seats (out of 73). In the first two phases we will be getting more than 90 seats (out of total 140). The main rival in these two phases is BSP. In the next phases, the rival will be SP," Shah told reporters in Lucknow.

He claimed that issues like payment of cane dues, loans at zero per cent interest to farmers, anti-Romeo squads to check crime against women, and some other key points in BJP manifesto had attracted youths and common people and they were supporting BJP.
Slamming Akhilesh, Shah said he has conceded defeat by sacrificing 105 (of the 403) seats to Congress.
On the chief minister's charge that 'acche din' have eluded the people, he said, "By saying this, Akhilesh has accepted that he has failed. After ruling for five years, he is asking when will 'acche din' come. It will come after March 11, when BJP will form government."

The first phase of UP polls in 73 assembly constituencies witnessed 64.22 per cent voter turnout yesterday. Voting will be held in 67 Assembly constituencies spread over 11 districts on February 15.
The other five phases will be held on February 19, 23 and 27 and on March 4 and 8.
Counting will be taken up on March 11.