Lucknow, Dec 1: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP ) has repeated the performance once again by sweeping the civic body elections considered crucial for the survival of the opposition parties Congress, BSP and SP, in this political sensitive state of the Indian Union.
The BJP won 14 mayoral seats while the Bahujan Samaj Party has pocketed the remaining two. The ‘soft Hindu’ Congress draw blank in this prestigious polls seen as precursor to Gujarat Assembly election slated for December 9 and 14.
The results endorsed the faith and confidence Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reposed in the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
BJP's mayoral candidates have won in Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Agra, Firozabad, Ayodhya, Mathura, Lucknow, Kanpur, Saharanpur, Jhansi and Bareilly, and Moradabad. The BSP has won in Aligarh and Meerut.
In a major embarrassment for the Congress, the BJP has won the Amethi Nagar Panchayat elections. Amethi is the constituency of Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi and is considered a bastion of the party. The BJP had won the Amethi Nagar Panchayat Chairman post with 48% vote share. The BSP and the Samajwadi Party (SP) forfeited their deposits.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the good showing by the BJP in the Uttar Pradesh civic polls means that the people are happy with the performance of the incumbent government in the state. “In last eight months, my government has taken some decisions in public interest. Today’s result should be an eye opener for all. I thank all voters who took part in the electoral process. We won due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah’s development policies,” he said.
When asked to comment on the trends, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said the people have shown full faith in the BJP and its ideology and discarded the SP, the BSP and the Congress. “The SP, the BSP and the Congress contested the polls as each other’s relatives. Former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who were together during Assembly polls as “UP ke ladke” have become like the punctured tyre and tube of a cycle,” he said. Cycle is the election symbol of the Samajvadi Party.
On the Opposition’s charge of tampering of EVMs, he said, “There was no shortcomings in EVMs, but it’s in their minds and party. They worked for a particular caste, and people have discarded them. We are working for all, irrespective of caste, creed and religion and that has been accepted by the people. I am going to Gujarat today with a positive message from U.P.,” he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reacted to the BJP's performance in the UP civic polls. Development has triumphed once again in the country. Thank people of the state for this grand victory. Many congratulations to CM Yogi Adityanath & all party workers. This win motivates us to work even harder for people's betterment, he said.