Acid test for Yogi Adityanath as UP faces local polls in 3 phases from Nov 22, results on Dec 1

The Uttar Pradesh State Election Commission today announced the schedule for local body elections in the state. The civic polls will be held in three phases - on November 22, 26 and 29. Counting will take place on December 1.

The local elections will be the first major acid test for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his BJP government after they came to power in March. The policies, programmes and the works done in eight months would be evaluated by way of these local elections.

POLL SCHEDULE

Elections will be held for 16 municipal corporations, 198 municipalities and 438 nagar panchayats spread in 75 districts of UP. Voting will take place in state capital Lucknow in the second phase on November 26.

In the first phase of elections to be held in 24 districts on November 22, voting will take place in Shamli, Meerut, Hapur, Bijnor, Badaun, Hathras, Kasganj, Agra, Kanpur, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Chitrakoot, Kaushambi, Pratapgarh, Unnao, Hardoi, Amethi, Faizabad, Gonda, Basti, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Ghazipur and Sonbhadra.

In the second phase, elections will be held in 25 districts namely, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Amroha, Rampur, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Aligarh, Mathura, Mainpuri, Farukkhabad, Etawah, Lalitpur, Banda, Allahabad, Lucknow, Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Bahraich, Shravasti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Deoria, Ballia, Varanasi and Bhadohi.

In the third phase of elections to be held in the remaining 26 districts on November 29, voting will take place in Saharanpur, Baghpat, Bulandshahar, Moradabad, Sambhal, Bareilly, Etah, Firozabad, Kannauj, Auraiya, Kanpur Rural, Jhansi, Mahoba, Fatehpur, Raebareli, Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Barabanki, Balrampur, Siddharth Nagar, Maharajganj, Kushi Nagar, Mau, Chandauli, Jaunpur and Mirzapur.

The municipal polls were earlier scheduled to be held in June and July. But they were postponed as the electoral rolls and some other processes could not be completed.

CHALLENGES BEFORE BJP

The BJP had won 312 seats in the UP Assembly election earlier this year, three-fourths of the total 403 seats. It unseated Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, which could bag only 47 seats. Mayawati's BSP followed with 19 seats. The Congress, which had contested the elections in alliance with SP, could not even touch the double-digit mark. It won a meagre seven seats.

With such a huge mandate, the BJP's challenge is to maintain its lead over its rivals. The development issue would be put to test. The deaths of hundreds of children in Yogi Adityanath's erstwhile Lok Sabha constituency of Gorakhpur have dented the image of the government.

Similarly, the government has been surrounded with controversies thrust upon by fringe elements and the Hindutva brigade. The issues regarding cow vigilantism, Mughal rulers and Taj Mahal have unnecessarily put the BJP government in a spotlight.

DIVIDED OPPOSITION

On the other hand, BJP's opponents too are not on a strong wicket. However, they would seek to improve their showing as compared to their performance during the Assembly election.

The SP is trying to get over the shocking defeat it faced in the Assembly election. The party is still being restructured after Akhilesh took over its reins just before the state polls. Infighting has not yet come under check.

The Bahujan Samaj Party is in a worse position. With her core vote-bank of Dalits shifting base to the BJP, Mayawati is trying to find issues that could strike a chord with them. So far, BSP has failed to show signs of recovery after the severe drubbing it suffered in the Assembly polls.

The Congress too finds itself in a neglected state. The state unit of the party has not yet been restructured after the disastrous performance. Moreover, the BJP would have reasons to cheer because the Samajwadi Party and the Congress are unlikely to stitch an alliance for the local elections.

To make matters worse for the Opposition is the decision of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to contest the UP local elections. This would further divide the Opposition's vote and help the BJP.

The BJP's vote share may remain intact. It is unlikely to see much erosion. In fact, it may expect the votes of the Muslim women to solidify further after the Supreme Court banning instant triple talaq.

Eight months are too short a period for anti-incumbency to set in. While the BJP will contest the local elections from a position of strength, the rivals will be seen putting their house in order to remain in the reckoning.

WATCH VIDEO | Adityanath invokes Ram rajya in Ayodhya, says will work for UP's development