Search the Internet           Tips

BJP leads in Uttar Pradesh civic polls

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party continued to march ahead of its main rival, the Samajwadi Party, while the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party put up impressive shows as more results of the local bodies elections in Uttar Pradesh came in on Monday.

The BJP bagged the mayoralties of Lucknow, Varanasi, Aligarh, Agra, Ghaziabad and Moradabad. The Samajwadi Party won Allahabad, the BSP won Meerut and the Congress, Kanpur. Independents won the Bareilly and Gorakhpur mayoralties.

The independents' tally continued to swell as the counting of votes progressed at a snail's pace on the third day on Monday, the state election directorate said.

Of the 530 municipal corporation seats for which results were available, the BJP led with 188 while the Samajwadi Party (115), BSP (80) and Congress (58) put up good shows. Fifty-eight seats went to independents.

The BJP also maintained its leading position in the municipal councils and town area committees with the Samajwadi Party and BSP close behind and the Congress making its presence felt at a number of places.

Of the 192 posts of municipal council chairman for which results were available, the BJP pocketed 45, the Samajwadi Party 37, BSP 23 and Congress 19. Of the 187 town area committee chairmen to be elected, the BJP led with 35 followed by the Samajwadi Party with 31, BSP 24 and Congress six. Independents won 59 posts of municipal council chairman and 86 as town area committee chairman.

Of the 1403 municipal council seats, the BJP has bagged 245 followed by the Samajwadi Party with 130, BSP with 106 and Congress, 64. Of the 1806 town committee seats, the BJP leads with 224, followed by the Samajwadi Party with 213, BSP with 146 and Congress, 61. Independents won 826 municipal council and 1133 town area committee seats.

Sharat Pradhan adds from Lucknow: Jubilant Chief Minister Rajnath Singh and state BJP president Kalraj Misra claimed to have improved on the party's tally in 1995.

With independents winning a large number of seats, all parties, including the BJP, are on the prowl to woo as many as possible. With Rajnath Singh at the helm, this is not regarded as too difficult for the ruling party.

The BJP's tally of eight mayors at the last election in 1995 has come down to six. Still, the argument being put out is: "But for Rajnath Singh, the party would not have more than four of the 11 mayoral positions."

A Singh supporter said: "It was the hectic touring by Rajnath Singh that made much difference, otherwise the BJP would have been in the dumps."

The chief minister too boasted: "We have still managed to remain ahead of all our rivals in most of the cities."

But from the available results and trends it is amply visible that both the BJP and the Samajwadi Party have registered a fall in their tallies, with some of their earlier share being snatched by the BSP and the Congress.

Tell us what you think of this report