UP panchayat elections: BJP, AAP claim big wins, over 2 lakh results yet to be declared

Lucknow: Results for over 3.27 lakh panchayat posts out of the nearly six lakh for which polling took place across the state have been declared, officials said Monday (May 3).

In addition, over 3.19 lakh candidates were declared elected unopposed, before the counting began Sunday at 826 centres began on Sunday.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party have claimed major wins in the elections which were held in four phases last month, amid a surge in coronavirus cases.

The state election commission said apart from those who faced no contest, 2,32,612 village panchayats members, 38,317 village pradhans, 55,926 kshetra panchayat members and 181 zila panchayat members have so far been declared elected.

As counting of ballot papers continues, the results for over 2.23 lakh posts are yet to be out.

Nearly 13 lakh candidates took part in the panchayat elections held on April 15, 19, 26 and 29.

Many of them were nominated or supported by the main political parties, but the panchayat elections were not held on party symbols.

The BJP claimed that 918 party candidates for zila panchayats have won and over 500 are leading. There are 3,050 district-level panchayat wards.

In a statement, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said 70 party-supported candidates won zila panchayat members’ posts and over 200 bagged village pradhan posts.

The claims by both parties could not be independently verified.

The AAP said their winning zila panchayat candidates will be given a chance to contest next year’s UP Assembly elections.

In the zila panchayat elections in Mainpuri, BJP candidate Sandhya Yadav, who is Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s niece, was defeated by SP’s Pramod Yadav.

In Ballia, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly and Samajwadi Party leader Ram Govind Choudhary’s son Ranjit Choudhary lost the election for a district panchayat member’s seat, officials said. He came third in ward 16.

The kin of several other political leaders too tasted defeat in this district.

BJP MLA Dhananjay Kanaujia’s mother Surya Kumari Devi lost the kshetra panchayat election.

Other losers include former BJP MP Harinarain Rajbhar’s son Atal Rajbhar and SP leader and former minister Sharda Nand Anchal’s grandson Vinay Prakash Anchal.

BJP MP Neeraj Shekhar’s relative Alok Singh lost the Siyar kshetra panchayat election.

Bahujan Samaj Party leader Ambika Chowdhury’s son Anand Chowdhury won a district panchayat member’s seat.

UP BJP traders’ cell co-convenor Rajesh Agrahari won a zila panchayat post in Amethi district.

He declared that an oxygen plant worth Rs 50 lakh will be set up within a week at the district hospital with a capacity to fill 110 cylinders every day to help COVID-19 patients.

Meanwhile, AAP state unit president Sabhajeet Singh alleged that the administration at various places is not handing out the election certificates to party-backed candidates under pressure from the state government.