UP civic polls 2017: Counting of votes begins; BJP eyes repeat of 2012 triumph

File photo: PTI

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh State Election Commission will on Friday announce the result of civic elections to local bodies in the state. 

The counting of votes of all 652 urban local bodies in the state began at 334 centres at 8:00 am today amid tight security arrangements and the results are likely to be declared by 7:00 pm in the evening.

Voting in UP's civic polls was conducted in three phases, on November 22, 26 and 29. The overall voter turnout was 52.4%, an improvement of over 6% points over the previous civic body polls. Over 3.36 crore voters were eligible to exercise their franchise at 36,269 polling booths.

This year, for the first time in the civic polls in UP, the winners will receive an SMS informing them about their victory on their seat. The Election Commission has instructed all districts on the new move to be carried out when counting takes place. 

The results would reflect on the performance of Uttar Pradesh ministers and BJP state unit's leadership as observers have viewed the civic elections as a litmus test for Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Adityanath had himself led the high-decibel campaign of the Bharatiya Janata Party, along with state unit chief Mahendra Nath Pandey.

The fate of 79,113 candidates is in fray for 12,647 posts in 16 municipal corporations, 198 municipalities and 438 town areas in the counting of votes. While voting for municipal corporations was held through EVMs, traditional ballot papers were used for municipality and town areas.

In 2012, the BJP had won 10 of 12 corporations, which this year have been expanded to 16. Out of the total 194 municipal councils (198 this year), the party had only won 41. 

A majority of the councils were won by Independents, backed by the Samajwadi Party and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which did not contest the elections directly. 

Of the 423 Nagar panchayats, Independents had won 352 while the BJP managed to get only 36. 

Uttar Pradesh was under a Samajwadi Party rule and the feat was considered to be a major one for the BJP as it had not been in power for more than a decade then.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha, the saffron party won 73 out of the 80 parliamentary seats in the watershed 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

It is for the first time that all the other major parties — Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party and Congress are contesting the urban body polls on their party symbols.