Over 60 Muslim candidates of BJP win in UP local body polls
The BJP had fielded 395 Muslim candidates — 358 for the posts of councilors and 32 for the posts of chairpersons of Nagar panchayats. Five candidates were fielded for the posts of chairpersons of nagar pikas (municipal councils).
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Lucknow, May 15: After the announcement of the municipal election results in Uttar Pradesh, where over 60 Muslim candidates emerged as winners, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a statement Sunday claimed that the “doubts in the minds of the minority community about the party have now been busted”.
The BJP had fielded 395 Muslim candidates — 358 for the posts of councilors and 32 for the posts of chairpersons of Nagar panchayats. Five candidates were fielded for the posts of chairpersons of nagar pikas (municipal councils). According to the BJP Minority Morcha, while none of the BJP’s five Muslim candidates for municipal council chairperson post won, five of the 32 fielded for the posts of chairpersons for nagar panchayats registered victory.
— BJP Minority Morcha, Delhi (@bjpmm_delhi) May 15, 2023
Among the 358 candidates fielded for the posts of councilors, at least 56 registered a win. Members of the morcha said that the number may increase as results from more wards are still flowing in. Kunwar Basit Ali, state president of Uttar Pradesh BJP Minority Morcha, said that many Muslims sought tickets in the municipal elections this time. “The party follows the slogan of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ and, hence, tried to give maximum tickets to candidates from the community,” he added. In a statement issued by the BJP Minority Morcha Sunday, Ali said the victory of the BJP candidates in Muslim-dominated areas showed that the community no longer harbored “doubts” about the party. Elections were held in two phases for a total of 14,684 posts in different municipal bodies across Uttar Pradesh on 4 May and 11 May. These comprised 17 mayor posts, 1,420 municipal corporator posts, 199 posts of chairpersons of municipal councils, 5,327 posts of municipal council members, 544 posts of chairpersons of nagar (town) panchayats, and 7,177 posts of members of nagar panchayats. In the elections for nagar panchayat chairpersons, five Muslim candidates who won include Vali Mohammed from the Gopamau panchayat in Hardoi; Phool Bano from the Chilkana nagar panchayat in Saharanpur; Kausar Abbas from the Sirsi Sambhal nagar panchayat; Nadeemul Hasan from the Dhaura Tanda nagar panchayat in Bareilly; and Farkhanda Zabin from Bhojpur Moradabad. Around 56 candidates won as ward members in different districts like Bulandshahr, Ayodhya, Hardoi, Amethi, Sant Kabir Nagar, Kanpur Dehat, Lucknow, and Shamli, among others. In Ward 4 in Bharatkund madrasa in Ayodhya, BJP’s Shoaib Abbas registered a win, while Zainab Jahan and Javed Ahmed won from Paintepur and Leherpur, respectively. In Hardoi, Nazeeb Hasan, Phool Bano, Islamuddin, and Naeemuallah won as ward members. In Amethi, too, BJP’s Jeba Khan won from nagar panchayat Ward 2, while in Gorakhpur, BJP’s Hakikun Nishan stood victorious as a ward member. From Ward 5 of the Siwal Khas Nagar Panchayat, BJP’s Shehzad won while Rukhsana won from Ward 3. In Lucknow, Lubna Khan from the party secured the highest votes as a ward member, while in Kanpur Dehat, Ravish Naqvi won as a ward member.
From Ward 22 of Pukhraya, BJP’s Shakeel Ahmed won, while in Sant Kabir Nagar, Independent candidate Rabia Ansari won with BJP’s support in Haisar Bazar Dhanghata as a ward member.
In Pukhrayan of Kanpur dehat, BJP’s Shakeel Ahmed won from a ward, while Sehwag Ansari registered a win from Ward 4 of Jhinjhak. From Ward 9 of nagar panchayat Sikandrabad in Bulandshahr, Raza Naqvi won as a member. In Ward 15 of Bulandshahr’s Shikarpur, Fehmeeda won, while Sambra Begum won from Ward 16 of Dibai. Further, in Chilkana Nagar panchayat, four BJP Muslim candidates — Amjad, Aatifra, Tauqir, and Inaam — emerged victorious. In Shamli Nagar panchayat, Salman Ahmed won from Ward 6.