Lucknow: Despite numbers not its favour, the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) almost swept the Zila Panchayat polls in UP. BJP has managed to win 67 out of 75 districts in the state. The polling and counting for the Zila Panchayat Chairperson in UP were held on Saturday. It should be mentioned that in the recently held elections for the post of Zila Panchayat members, BJP was placed on third spot with its numbers fewer than Samajwadi Party and independents.
As per the figures released by the state election commission, BJP has bagged 65 seats while Samajwadi Party could win only six. Two BJP supported candidates have also won in the elections. Lone Congress candidate in Raibarelli district, the stronghold of Gandhi family, has lost the seat to BJP. Polling for the post of chairpersons in 53 districts were held on Saturday. The BJP has already won 21 districts unopposed while SP on one. In 53 districts that went to poll on Saturday, BJP managed to win on 46 while SP could get only six seats.
SP candidates lost in districts such as Mainpuri, Kannauj, Badaun, Ferozabad and Farrukhabad, which are known as its stronghold. In Western UP where SP and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) had formed alliance against BJP, the later won on most of the seats. The SP-RLD candidate could win only on Bagpat seat. At many places, SP candidates lost due to cross voting with many of its Zila Panchayat members taking side of BJP candidates. In Ayodhya and Mainpuri where SP had good numbers, it lost to BJP due to cross voting.
BJP has won prestigious seats of Ayodhya, Varanasi, Mathura, Gorakhpur and Lucknow where it performed poor in the panchayat member’s election few days back. Congress had fielded its candidate in Raibareilli only with the help of SP but it lost to BJP. In Amethi, the BJP candidate won with a handsome margin.
The SP candidate have won in Azamgarh, Etawah, Etah, Sant Kabirnagar, Balia and Bagpat only. Independent candidate Sri Kala Reddy has won in Jaunpur where BJP had given the seat to alliance partner Apna Dal. The Apna Dal candidates had withdrawn in favour of Sri Kala Reddy just before the polling.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had not taken part in these elections and its elected Panchayat members supported BJP in large numbers. Most of the independent members too supported BJP.
Meanwhile reacting on the results, the SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said that ruling BJP used state machinery to influence voters and large-scale rigging was done in most of districts. The state BJP president Swatantra Deo Singh said that results have only shown the mood of people just before the assembly elections.
