BJP, which had supported candidates in zila panchayat and kshetra panchayat polls for the first time, could not make a significant impact.
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An independent candidate defeated the BJP candidate in Jayapur, a village near Varanasi adopted by PM Modi a year ago.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which was unable to win a single seat in the 2014 general elections, has claimed that candidates backed by the party have won a majority of seats in the Uttar Pradesh panchayat polls. The SP candidates for the member district panchayat also suffered defeat in both the blocks. The SP however managed to save its fort in other blocks like Jaswant Nagar, Bharthana, Badpura and Basehar. On the orders of the SEC FIR was lodged against Totaram Yadav and 15 others including policemen on duty. In Azamgarh the daughter in law of the SP MLA Abhay Naryan Patel lost the election.
Minister Kailash Yadav’s son was trailing while incumbent district panchayat chairman of Ghazipur and SP leader Shishupal Yadav was also on the verge of defeat, reports IANS.
Bajpai trained guns on the ruling Samajwadi Party accusing it of using unfair means, including “fielding candidates indirectly” and resorting to booth capturing, to hijack the election process. In Meerut, Nawazish Manzor, son of the Labour minister Shahid Manzor won the election of member kshetra panchayat by 800 votes.
The BJP put up an unimpressive show in the UP Panchayat Elections, managing to secure only 8 out of the 48 seats.
The state’s ruling SP took the lead in rural local bodies across the state while the saffron party fared poorly even in high-profile constituencies, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Varanasi.
Many family members of ministers in the Akhilesh Yadav cabinet contested the polls but have bit the dust.
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With assembly elections less than two years away in UP, the panchayat polls are being seen a crucial indicator of how parties are positioned in the state.
