Elections 2012: SP single largest, but short of majority

As the counting of the votes continue, Uttar Pradesh appears to be heading towards a hung assembly with the Samajwadi Party (SP) emerging as the single largest party in the state, falling short of a clear majority.

While the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) stands at the second position, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are in a neck-and-neck fight for the third spot.

According to the leads at 11.48 am, the SP leads in 183 seats while the BSP manages to lead in 96. The Congress+RLD alliance has inched ahead of the BJP as they stand at 49 and 45 seats respectively. Others lead in 13 assembly seats.

Meanwhile, the BJP has expressed happiness over its performance, saying that they would sit in the opposition rather than supporting any party in the government formation.

BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap gave the credit of the performance to party president Nitin Gadkari, adding that the party had taken a decision to sit in the opposition.

The Congress, on the other hand, said that the results were against their expectation. However, it maintained that the party would have a say in the government formation in the state.

Congress leader Sachin Pilot said, "Our mission of ousting Mayawati government has been successful