Uttar Pradesh civic polls 2017: Here's who said what

Lucknow: While the results of the civic body polls, which were held recently in Uttar Pradesh, wa on expected lines for the ruling BJP, they were not so heart-warming for opposition parties like SP, BSP and Congress.

While the BJP won 14 out of the 16 municipal corporations, Mayawati's BSP also surprised many by making a strong comeback from being nearly extinct after a slew of electoral defeats in 2014 Lok Sabha polls and the last assembly elections in UP.

Here is how the top political leaders reacted to the outcome of the UP civic elections 2017:-

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

"Development has triumphed once again in the country. Thank people of the state for this grand victory," he tweeted. "Many congratulations to CM Yogi Adityanath and all party workers. This win motivates us to work even harder for people's betterment."

Yogi Adityanath, CM UP

''I attribute this victory to PM Narendra Modi's vision and BJP chief Amit Shah's electoral strategies, my party colleagues and, above all, the voters of Uttar Pradesh who have accepted our party's ideology and corruption-free governance.'' ''The results are an eye-opener for those making tall claims against BJP govt in Gujarat and elsewhere.''

Dinesh Sharma, UP Dy CM

''People of the state have shown full faith in the BJP and its ideology and discarded the SP, the BSP and the Congress. The SP, the BSP and the Congress contested the polls as each other's relatives. (SP chief) Akhilesh Yadav and (Congress vice president) Rahul Gandhi, who were together during assembly polls as 'UP ke ladke' have become like the tyre and tube of a 'cycle' and it has got punctured."

Smriti Irani, Union Textiles Minister

"Rahul Gandhi could not even win urban bodies poll, how can he claim to win Lok Sabha elections? Result proves public is not with Rahul Gandhi.''

''People of Gujarat will reply to Rahul in the same manner Uttar Pradesh did.''

Mahendra Nath Pandey, UP BJP chief

''Congress and other parties were giving internal support to each other, We fought alone and we are now leading with a good number in early trends. This has given a further boost to our confidence level.”

Rajpal Kashyap, Samajwadi Party MLC

''It was disheartening to note that the BJP gained on places where EVMs were used. The party is closely analysing the results." 

The counting for crucial civic body elections - being seen as the first test for Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath since assuming charge in March this year – is still underway. 

The BJP had won 10 out of 12 mayoral seats in 2012.

The final results are expected by this evening. Results will be communicated to the candidates through SMS on their registered mobile numbers.

Official sources said no procession would be allowed during the counting process and following the announcement of the results.

Polling was held for 16 nagar nigams, 198 nagar palika parishads and 438 nagar panchayats with an average turnout of all the three phases estimated at 52.5 percent of the 3.32 crore voters.

The Yogi Adityanath government, soon after assuming office in March, had constituted two municipal corporations of Ayodhya and Vrindavan-Mathura.

The overall percentage recorded an improvement from 46.2 percent in 2012 to 52.5 percent this time.

The elections had generated a lot of political heat with the ruling BJP leaving nothing to chance. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath crisscrossed the state to woo voters in the name of development.

Aware that the BJP's performance in the polls was being watched closely after its massive sweep of the state in the Assembly polls this year, Adityanath undertook a whirlwind campaign, unprecedented for a chief minister, during civic polls.

Opposition SP, BSP and Congress campaigns were on comparatively low key. Both SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati did not campaign for their candidates. 

For the very first time, webcasting of 10% booths of every district was done in an attempt to monitor booth-level activity. Drones were also used at some sensitive and hyper-sensitive polling booths.

These elections have become more interesting because the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) decided to contest the elections on their own symbol.