Hapur: The ‘satta markets’ of Hapur, Lucknow, and, Delhi are predicting the return of the BJP to power in Uttar Pradesh, but with a curtailed majority of 220 seats.
The bookies who run the satta bazaar had predicted 230 seats to the BJP in the key state in January, but noted that each phase – the state went in for a seven-phased election, the figure will change. Now ahead of the last round of voting on March 7 and counting on March 10 is round the corner, they are giving 220 seats in the 403-member state Assembly, or a loss of 80 seats, to the saffron party in their last trends.
“Farmers have played a crucial role to divide, the votes otherwise the BJP will get more seats. In the last phase the situation has again turned… our calculation is saying that the BJP is getting 220 seats,” a bookie, who did not want to be named, told IANS.
Since the last 21 years, no party has returned to power in the state, and if bookies’ prediction comes true, then the BJP will create a new trend. The bookies said that they had predicted that after early losses, the BJP would emerge winner with a majority.
IANS spoke to different bookies to know who they were predicting for the other contenders, and they said that the Samajwadi Party will emerge as the major opposition party with 135 to 140 seats. In the early trends of the elections, they had given it 130 seats.
“There is increase in number of Samajwadi Party. They are getting 10 extra seats,” said the bookie.
Bookies are offering 100 for 100 for both the BJP and Samajwadi Party.
The Congress and Aam Aadmi Party do not figure in the calculations of the bookies, who told IANS that both these parties are “merely mute spectators” in the UP Assembly elections.
However, they are giving 15 seats to the Bahujan Samaj Party.
The satta bazaar is taking the help of professionals and paid services to run their operations, and are catering only to trusted customers, to save themselves from the police.
