Uttar Pradesh election: How the regions voted in 2017, as voters swayed to BJP

West UP
The 73 of the 403 Vidhan Sabha seats that went to polls in the first phase of the 2017 assembly elections were in 15 districts of west UP. The voter turnout of over 64% was higher than the 62% in 2012 polls. The change in political preference of Jat voters had majorly altered the election results and the trigger had been the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.Jats deserted the RLD and went to BJP, though in 2012, hardly 7% Jat votes had gone to saffron camp. The 15 districts had a dominant presence of Muslim voters, more than 25%, still votes of Jats and non-Jat castes like Pals, Kashyaps, Gurjars, Sainis and others helped BJP win 51 seats. SP won 16, Congress two and BSP one. As per assessments on 2017 polls, at least 40% Jat votes and 17% non-Jatav Dalit votes (Khatik, Pasi, Valmiki, etc.) went to BJP
Rohilkhand
The 67 seats in 11 districts which went to polls in the second phase witnessed the highest voter turnout of over 66%. In 2012 assembly elections, SP had won 34 seats, BSP emerged second with 18 seats and BJP got 10 seats and was third. In Rampur, Bareilly, Amroha and Bijnor, Muslim voters constitute at least half of the population. In 2017, voters turned out in huge numbers to vote for AIMIM. BJP, SP and BSP were close winners. Rohilkhand voters include workers of small-scale industries and unorganised sector as well as big farmers in Pilibhit, Bareilly and Badaun. Rohilkhand is a region full of contrasts.
Awadh
Awadh is a big region with politically significant districts of Lucknow, Ayodhya, Kannauj, Etawah, Mainpuri, Auraiya, Kanpur, Rae Bareli, Amethi, Unnao, Kaushambi, Hardoi, Barabanki and others, and has given three Prime Ministers, Indira Gandhi, V P Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. These districts went to polls in the third, fourth and fifth phases. As per the voting trend in previous elections, the region has not been a stronghold of any political party for long. In 2017, BJP won 116 out of the 137 seats in the region, SP bagged 11 while BSP drew a blank. The result was a contrast to the 2012 elections when SP had won 95 and BJP 12 seats. Etawah, Mainpuri, Etah, Kannauj are Samajwadi Party strongholds but in 2017, it lost nine out of 14 seats in these districts. Voters in Congress bastions Rae Bareli and Amethi also preferred BJP over the grand old party as six of the 10 seats went to BJP. In 2012, Congress had won nine seats in the Awadh region. Voters in the region are from different caste groups and that is the why it plays a decisive role in elections. SCs have a substantial presence and Muslims form 15% to 20% of the population, Yadavs and Kurmis are also dominant voters and about one-fourth of the population is of upper castes.
Bundelkhand
The voting for 19 seats in the seven districts of Bundelkhand took place in the fourth phase and the turnout was huge. It was for the first time when voters across castes voted for BJP and helped it win all 19 seats. Bundelkhand has always been in focus for its social and economic backwardness and was a BSP stronghold before 2017. In 2012, BSP had won the highest number of seven seats, SP got five, Congress four and BJP bagged three seats. BJP lost one in the byelection that followed. In 2007, BSP had won 12 seats.
Purvanchal
As many as 14 districts of the region went to polls in the sixth and seventh phases in 2017. The region comprises more than 20 districts from east UP. In the last two phases, the voter turnout was around 60% in the region that has around 160 seats. The region has PM’s constituency Varanasi, SP stronghold Azamgarh and Ambedkarnagar, which is BSP turf. Gorakhpur and Kushinagar are other significant districts. Weavers and artisans form a big chunk of voters in Purvanchal. Some districts like Chandauli and Sonbhadra are Naxal-affected. BJP won all five seats in Varanasi in 2017 while SP and BSP retained their strongholds. People voted in droves for BJP in 2017, which is why it won more than 100 seats. In 2012, SP had bagged more than 80 seats. In 2007, most of the Purvanchal voted for Mayawati as BSP won around 70 seats and came to power. The voters from Most Backward Castes had played a decisive role in 2017 elections.