BJP Surges Ahead In UP Civic Polls

At a time when BJP is unsure of retaining power in Karnataka, the party has taken a major lead in the Urban Local Body (ULB) polls in Uttar Pradesh, the results of which have started trickling in after counting of votes started at 7 am this morning.

Early trends suggest that there won't be much of Karnataka-style suspense and the saffron party will win it big here. BJP candidate Ganesh Kesarwani is leading by 26 votes against his SP rival Ajay Srivastava for the post of Mayor in Prayagraj, which remained in the headlines throughout the last month over the trials of mafia don Atiq Ahmed and his subsquent murder.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has asked the State Election Commission to release figures after each round of counting for the sake of transparency. “It is hoped that the Election Commission will keep telling the figures after each round so that public confidence remains,” he tweeted.

BSP has made its presence felf by taking the lead for the post of Municipality President from Hamirpur Municipality Maudha. There are total of 25 wards, in which BJP is ahead in 9, SP is ahead in 7 wards, BSP is ahead in 5 wards and others are ahead in 4 wards. Congress account is not opened here.

The BJP hasn’t faced any electoral challenges in Uttar Pradesh since the Modi juggernaut swept through the country in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections as well as the 2019 Lok Sabha elections further cemented the saffron hold on the State.

With strong organisation, the ruling party has also dominated local body polls, including Panchayat elections, under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath. Hence, its surging ahead in the ULB polls today has hardly surprised anybody.