Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third consecutive victory in the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, triumphing over Congress candidate Ajay Rai by more than 1.5 lakh votes. The Bahujan Samaj Party's Ather Jamal Lari finished in third place, trailing the Prime Minister by nearly 5.8 lakh votes.

The BJP has dominated this seat since 1991, with only RK Mishra of the Congress breaking their streak in 2004. Ajay Rai, who has contested and lost the last three general elections from Varanasi, briefly raised hopes for the opposition by leading Modi by 6,223 votes early in the day. However, as the counting progressed, Modi surged ahead, ultimately finishing with over 6.12 lakh votes.

Despite Modi's decisive win, the BJP's overall performance in Uttar Pradesh has been less impressive compared to previous elections. Since 2014, when a 'Modi wave' swept through the state, the BJP has been nearly unbeatable in Uttar Pradesh. The party won 61 of the state's 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and 62 seats in 2019. At the state level, Yogi Adityanath led the BJP to a historic victory in 2017, winning 312 of the 403 Assembly seats, and secured a second term in 2022 despite criticism over the farmers' protests.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, exit polls had predicted a big win for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, projecting 68 seats for the party. The Congress-led INDIA bloc was expected to secure only 12 seats. However, the actual results have shown a different story.

Driven by Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, the INDIA bloc has mounted a significant challenge to the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, likely finishing a strong second. The Samajwadi Party is set to win 38 seats—a record for the party in Lok Sabha elections—while the Congress is poised to win seven seats, including the critical Amethi constituency, which Rahul Gandhi lost to Smriti Irani in 2019. This time, it is Kishor Lal Sharma, not Rahul Gandhi, who is reclaiming Amethi for the Congress. Rahul Gandhi has chosen to contest from Raebareli and Wayanad, winning comfortably in both constituencies.

The unexpected performance of the INDIA bloc in Uttar Pradesh highlights the changing political landscape and the formidable challenge it poses to the BJP. Similar trends are observed in other key states. In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has thwarted the BJP's advances, likely improving on its 2019 tally of 22 seats. In Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, despite internal splits, is on track to win 29 of the state's 48 seats, undermining BJP's efforts to gain ground.

These developments underscore a significant shift in the electoral dynamics across India, with the INDIA bloc emerging as a formidable opponent to the BJP in several key states.