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BJP gets shot in the arm in Uttar Pradesh

The Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] has got a second life in Uttar Pradesh by sweeping the urban body elections in the state. The party which was down an out in the assembly elections held in the state [it had decreased its tally by four seats] and was suffering from a political crisis has now been able to bounce back with this result. After the recent victory in the municipal elections in Delhi, this is the BJP's second major victory.

The party described the victory in Uttar Pradesh as a verdict of the people against the corruption and price rise of the Congress-led UPA government.'People are fed up with corruption, and price rise,' said BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. The BJP leader said the Congress has not been able to win a single seat even in its strongholds Amethi and Rae Bareli.

The BJP won 10 out of 12 mayoral posts in these elections, whereas the ruling Samajwadi Party and the main opposition party BSP did not contest election on their symbols but candidates supported by these two regional parties won one seat each. The Congress' nightmare continues as it failed to win even a single mayoral seat. The last time it had three Mayors.

This time, the party contested the corporation elections with full might. The party’s state president Rita Bahuguna Joshi campaigned in favour of party candidates in Lucknow, Allahabad, Meerut, Bareilly and Varanasi, but failed to turn the tide in favour of party candidates.

On the other hand, the sweet run of the BJP in Lucknow continues as its candidate Dinesh Sharma won the mayoral election for the second time in a row by defeating his nearest rival Neeraj Bora of the Congress by over 1.25 lakh votes. The BJP also won the mayoral seat of Moradabad, Aligarh, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Agra and Kanpur.

SP-backed IS Tomar won the Bareilly mayoral seat defeating his nearest rival Gulshan Azad of the BJP.  In Allahabad, BSP-supported independent candidate Abhilasha Gupta, wife of former cabinet minister Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi, was elected mayor. She defeated her nearest rival, Kamla Singh of the BJP, by more than 20,000 votes.

BJP state president Lakshmi Kant Bajpai said people have lost faith in the ruling Samajwadi Party and it will be rooted out in the 2014 Lok Sabha poll. Bajpai said results of the urban local body elections have come as a morale-booster for the party in its preparation for the next Lok Sabha election.

Bajpai thanked the party workers and the electorate for the success of the BJP in the local bodies elections and said the party would try its best to fulfill the aspirations of the people.
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