Sirathu seat: In huge upset, Pallavi Patel beats Dy CM Keshav Maurya

In one of the biggest upsets of UP assembly polls, Apna Dal (Kameravadi) leader Pallavi Patel contesting on Samajwadi Party symbol defeated UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya by a margin of 7,337 votes to bag the Sirathu seat of Kaushambi district on Thursday. Patel secured a total of 1,06,278 votes, while Maurya could garner just 98,941 votes.

Patel led the race right from round 2 of the counting and had increased her lead to 3386 votes by round 8. The lead swelled to around 3500 votes by round 10. However, Keshav then started to gain ground and by 13th round the difference was down to just 133 votes. Pallavi then inched ahead before the counting had to be stopped after Maurya’s son Yogesh complained to poll officials and demanded recount. This soon led to violence between Patel’s supporters and BJP workers. The police had to cane charge the protestors and even bust tear gas shells to bring the situation under control. The counting again started after a gap of over an hour which finally led to Pallavi being declared victorious.

“All efforts were made to defeat me, but the magic of Sirathu’s daughter-in-law has finally worked with the blessing of the people. It is a victory of people despite heavy odds and hurdles. I congratulate people of Sirathu,” Pallavi said after being declared the winner.

For Maurya, contesting from Sirathu seat after a gap of decade, the defeat is being seen as a huge loss.