Lucknow: The results of the Municipal elections, polling of which was held in two phases, will be out on Saturday which is set to set the tone and tenor of the next Lok Sabha elections slated for early 2024.
This election assumes importance because it covers all 17 municipal corporations, including the recently created Shahjahanpur. In the first phase, polling was held on May 4 in 37 districts, while polling was held in 30 districts on May 11 in the second phase.
This is the last election in this politically sensitive state before the Lok Sabha elections and is considered a prelude to the General elections. The electoral college in the Mayoral election is bigger than the electoral college in the Parliamentary election.
In the last municipal corporation elections held in 2017, the BJP emerged victorious in 14 of the 16 seats in UP. This time around, there are 17 seats up for grabs, and after voting on 12 of these seats, the BJP seems to have an upper hand, with political experts predicting a strong lead for the party.
The SP is also seen as a strong contender for victory on four seats, while the BSP is hoping to make inroads with a win on one seat.
However, there are some concerns for the BJP as there has been low voter turnout and internal rebellion within the party. On the other hand, the SP may get hurt by the BSP’s “Muslim card” as the BSP has fielded Muslim candidates in Muslim majority seats. Despite this, it seems unlikely that the BSP will be able to save its two seats.
According to political experts, the BJP alone is leading in 75 per cent of the Municipal Corporation seats, while the opposition is playing in 25 per cent of the field.