Is Yogi's eastern UP bastion under threat?

The Bharatiya Janata Party is staring at abysmal loses in Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, a poll conducted by India Today-Karvy Insights suggests.

On Wednesday (January 23), the Congress announced the official debut of Priyanka Gandhi in active politics by giving her the role of a general secretary for Uttar Pradesh. Lok Sabha elections 2019 are due in the next few months and with Priyanka's debut the Congress has made sure that it remains in this race.

If general elections were to be held today, the BJP and its ally Apna Dal would win only 18 seats in the politically important state of Uttar Pradesh. That is a drop of a staggering 53 Lok Sabha seats compared to the BJP's 2014 tally.