BJP gets 14 mayors INUP,BSP2

CIVIC POLLS Cong’s defeat a shot in arm to BJP’S Gujarat prospects, Maya back in spotlight

LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath led the BJP sweep in the urban local bodies’ polls, with the saffron party capturing 14 of the 16 mayoral seats in Uttar Pradesh.

The BSP managed to wrest the other two seats.

BJP bagged the mayoral seats of Lucknow, Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Bareilly, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Jhansi and Ayodhyafaizabad.

Aligarh and Meerut mayors’ seats went to the BSP.

Talking to media persons here, Yogi said credit for the party’s ‘historic’ win goes to the people who reposed faith in the party and the government, and also to the party workers who successfully carried the message of development and nationalism to the masses.

The Congress was trounced in two nagar palika parishads (Jayas and Gauriganj) in Amethi, the party’s pocket borough. The electoral drubbing of the Congress in the Gandhi bastion and the BJP’S victory in 14 of 16 nagar nigams has come as a bad news for the Congress ahead of Gujarat assembly elections.

The Samajwadi Party and Congress are out of the scene in the nagar nigam mayors’ polls though they were seen winning some seats in nagar palika parishads and nagar panchayats.

A large number of independents were seen emerging victorious in nagar paliks parishads and nagar panchayats when last reports came in.

The first good news for the BJP came from Ayodhya that was elevated to the status of nagar nigam along with Mathura in April-may. Then it romped to victory, one by one, in Lucknow, Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Bareilly, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Saharanpur and Jhansi.

The BSP, however, interrupted

the BJP’S winning spree in Aligarh and Meerut. BSP’S Mohd Fukran and Sunita Verma won the Aligarh and Meerut mayoral seats, respectively.

The civic polls, which were held in three phases on November 22, 26 and 29, were being seen as a litmus test for Adityanath since he assumed office eight months ago. This explains why he embarked on a whirlwind campaign, addressing rallies in

several cities.

Though the BJP has won 14 out of 16 nagar nigams, the party has not improved on its tally of 2012 when it had won 10 out of 12 mayoral seats. This way, the victory ratio remains the same.

BSP — A BIG WINNER

The BJP may have romped to victory in 14 of the 16 nagar nigams but it is Mayawati’s BSP that has emerged as the real winner. The party, purportedly, was contesting the civic polls on its symbol for the first time. However, it surprised many with its stunning win in western UP’S two important and big nagar nigams while coming on second position at various places.

The BSP’S victory becomes all the more important considering the fact that, unlike the BJP, it kept its campaign a very low-key affair.