Uttar Pradesh election results 2017: If BJP wins, Keshav Prasad Maurya could become chief minister; party leading in 312 constituencies

The Uttar Pradesh BJP unit chief Keshav Prasad Maurya, currently a Lok Sabha MP from Phulpur, is a former tea seller. The BJP was leading in 312 constituencies at around 11.57 am.

keshav prasad maurya, uttar pradesh assembly election 2017, up bjp chief keshav prasad maurya, who is keshav prasad maurya — Keshav Prasad Maurya, the Uttar Pradesh state's president for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), gestures as he addresses an election campaign rally in Bah, in the central state of Uttar Pradesh, India, February 2, 2017.Reuters file

March 11 Update: The BJP was leading in 312 constituencies, after having won seven seats, at around 11.57 am.

The BJP was leading in 215 constituencies at around 9.27 am, according to News18.

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At around 9.15 am, the BJP+ was leading in 146 constituencies, clearly indicating that the party was having the momentum. The Samajwadi Party-Congress coalition was trailing behind, with 39 seats, according to news channel India Today.

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah told news agency ANI two days ago that it was a conscious decision not to project any candidate as the chief ministerial face of the party in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

Yet, there is a strong possibility that the UP BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya could be the Uttar Pradesh chief minister should his party win a clear majority.

A tea-seller, like Narendra Modi, before joining the RSS, the 47-year-old was elevated to the top party post in the state last April. After his elevation, he had said his "responsibility" was to win 265 seats for the party in the UP assembly elections.

"Got inspiration for doing social service as well as education during childhood while selling tea. With that spirit of social service, worked in the organization holding different positions and reached the highest democratic institute in the country as people's representative," says his profile on Lok Sabha website.

Should the party achieve it, Maurya — currently a first-time Lok Sabha MP from Phulpur, Allahabad — could be the frontrunner for the top job in the state.

However, it could be attributed more to the "Modi wave" that swept the state and gave the party 71 Lok Sabha seats.

A report in the Hindustan Times said that his importance could be gauged from the fact that he addressed about 200 rallies during the seven-phase election campaign that ended on Monday (March 8).

His role is perceived as crucial in forging alliances with two parties — Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and Apna Dal for the assembly elections.

Elections are on in 40 constituencies of Uttar Pradesh as part of the seventh and last phase of elections. Counting will be held on Saturday (March 11). Polling is also being held in Manipur in the second and final phase for 22 seats out of 60.

The state is witnessing a three-cornered contest between the BJP, the SP-Congress coalition and the Mayawati-led Bhahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

The previous elections (2002, 2007 and 2012) relegated the two national parties, but the success of the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections brought the party back into the reckoning.