BJP wins panchayat chief elections in UP

Attributing the victory to policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief minister Yogi Adityanath tweeted: “The BJP’s historic sweep in these elections is due to pro-people policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he tweeted.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday swept the zila panchayat chairpersons’ elections after candidates backed by the party attained victory in 67 of 75 seats.

Of the 67, the BJP won 21 seats unopposed after several candidates from opposition parties joined the ruling party overnight and withdrew from the contest. (PTI)

Of the 67, the BJP won 21 seats unopposed after several candidates from opposition parties joined the ruling party overnight and withdrew from the contest.

Attributing the victory to policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief minister Yogi Adityanath tweeted: “The BJP’s historic sweep in these elections is due to pro-people policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he tweeted.

“It is also a reflection of the good governance model of UP,” he added while congratulating the people of the state on the party’s win.

Modi also extended his wishes to the chief minister and party workers for the win.

“The victory of BJP in the zila panchayat elections for development, public service and to maintain law and order is a blessing from the public. The credit goes to chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s policies and the efforts put in by party workers. Hearty congratulations to the UP government and BJP party,” he tweeted.

Zila panchayat chiefs are elected from among the elected members of zila panchayats. The four-phase panchayat polls concluded in the state last month.

The victory in these elections is crucial for the ruling party which lost the zila panchayat ward members’ polls to the opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) in April.

While the Congress lost the only seat it contested in Rae Bareli, the Lok Sabha bastion of party interim chief Sonia Gandhi, the Bahujan Samaj Party boycotted the polls, citing misuse of official machinery.

The opposition Samajwadi Party also alleged misuse of state power. “The BJP demolished all democratic norms to manufacture a win. Such muzzling of democracy and such brute use of official machinery was never seen before,” party chief Akhilesh Yadav said.

While the BJP secured a win in Unnao, the SP expelled its official candidate for siding with the former.

In Amethi, the BJP won against the SP while the Congress failed to put up a candidate. The Congress had lost the region to the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

In Jaunpur, BJP’s ally Apna Dal withdrew from the race in support of independent candidate Srikala Reddy, wife of former MP Dhananjay Singh, who eventually won the polls.

In Ghazipur, two members who won on the backing of Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), extended their support to the BJP. Owaisi’s party plans to contest from 100 seats in the assembly elections next year.

“AIMIM’s nexus with BJP now lies exposed,” Congress leader Surendra Rajput said.

AIMIM’s UP chief Shaukat Ali, however, denied allegations of his party candidates backing the ruling party.

While the SP won its stronghold Etawah unopposed, it registered a one-sided victory in Azamgarh, Yadav’s Lok Sabha constituency.

The party also took the BJP by surprise in Etah, Sant Kabir Nagar and Ballia but faced a setback in bastions like Mainpuri, Rampur, Kannauj and Ferozabad. It also lost Farrukhabad where the ruling party fielded Monica Yadav, former wife of top SP leader Dharmendra Yadav, for the polls.

The RLD won the Baghpat seat where the joint candidate of the two parties, Mamta Kishore, initially went “missing” and was later believed to have withdrawn her papers before an official protest by the parties ensured a contest.

“The public built moral pressure and didn’t let desperate tactics (by the ruling party) succeed,” RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary said.

Several videos accusing both ruling and opposition parties of foul play surfaced during the day. The SP, in a video, alleged that a senior district administration official in Auraiya was caught preventing voters allegedly belonging to the opposition party from casting their ballot.

In Chandauli, another video that went viral showed former SP MP Ram Kishan Yadav touching the feet of zila panchayat ward members to secure the party’s win.

“He is known for dramatics,” local SP leader Chandrashekhar Yadav said, accusing former Ram Kishan of conspiring against the party.

“There is no direct co-relation to suggest that these polls will have a bearing on the 2022 UP polls. However, the manner in which the party’s top leadership has responded to the clean sweep in these rural polls does suggest that the BJP would surely market it as an achievement, especially after not performing well in the zila panchayat ward members’ poll. Politics is as much about perception as it is about performance and BJP would surely play up the win in an election year,” veteran journalist and political observer Irshad Ilmi said.