The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday swept 14 of the 16 mayoral seats in the Uttar Pradesh civic polls. The party however lost out on the Gorakhpur ward to an independent candidate Nadira Khatoon. The Congress in turn lost out on the Amethi seat to BJP. The BSP bagged the Aligarh and Meerut mayoral seats.
Around 3.32 crore people in urban Uttar Pradesh are estimated to have voted in the three-phase polls for sixteen nagar nigams, 71 nagar palika parishads, and 154 nagar panchayats that were held from 22 November.
- BJP wins 14 of 16 mayoral seats in UP civic polls
- Congress fares poorly in Amethi, BJP loses out on Gorakhpur ward
- Four injured in police lathicharge on a crowd that had gathered outside the counting centre in Muzaffarnagar
- Polling took place for sixteen nagar nigams, 71 nagar palika parishads, and 154 nagar panchayats in three phases
BJP Mum on Defeat in UP Nagar Panchayat Polls: Akhilesh
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the BJP of "spreading lies" and said the party was patting itself for its win in Uttar Pradesh's mayoral elections, but was mum on their defeat in nagar palika and nagar panchayat polls.
"BJP is a 'jhoot parosne waali party' (one which indulges in serving lies). It won 14 out of 16 mayoral seats in UP due to electronic voting machines (EVMs). But it is not discussing its defeats in nagar palika and nagar parishad elections," he said.
Akhilesh, who was here to attend a wedding, said, "If countries more developed than India can use ballot papers for voting, what is the problem in India? The Election Commission must clarify how it could repair a faulty EVM. When a faulty EVM can be repaired, a properly functioning EVM can be tampered with".
The opposition parties like the SP, Congress, AAP and others have accused the BJP of tampering with the EVMs, and have rooted for an alternative way of casting votes.
Akhilesh Yadav Alleges Foul Play
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav took to Twitter a day after the UP civic poll results, to suggest foul play.
UP Civic Poll Results Nothing Compared to What Will Happen in Guj: Shah
BJP chief Amit Shah said his party’s victory in the Uttar Pradesh mayoral polls was nothing compared to what was going to happen in Gujarat on 18 December, when the state Assembly election results would be declared.
In the Uttar Pradesh municipal corporation election, the Congress did not win a single seat. On the other hand, the BJP flag has soared higher under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and (UP) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.Amit Shah at Somnath rally
“The Congress has been shouting for the last three months that ‘Congress aave chhe’ (Congress is coming in Gujarat), while today, the people of Uttar Pradesh said ‘Congress jae chhe’ (Congress is going),” he said.
Ayodhya Gets its First Mayor
Barely a couple of weeks before he turns 41, Rishikesh Upadhayay virtually got the perfect birthday gift from the voters of Ayodhya and Faizabad, who elected him as the first mayor of this temple town situated around 120 km from the state capital Lucknow.
An elated Upadhyay said that he wishes to filfil the aspirations of the people and also hoped that "after the judgement of the Supreme Court, a grand Ram temple will be constructed in Ayodhya.
"The place where Lord Ram was born, a temple must be built," he said.
Upadhyay's victory also assumes significance, as it was from Ayodhya that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath kicked off his hectic blitzkrieg for the UP urban local body elections.