The BJP forged ahead of its rivals in 58 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh while the BSP-SP alliance was leading in 19 seats as counting of votes progressed, according to Election Commission trends. In the high-profile Amethi seat, BJP's Smriti Irani established an early lead of 1,931 votes against sitting MP and Congress president Rahul Gandhi while UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was leading in neighbouring Rae Bareli by over 17,000 votes.
