Why victory in Uttar Pradesh panchayat polls may not be an indicator of success in assembly elections

The last two district Panchayat polls in the state present an interesting picture

BJP, which won 67 of 75 district panchayat seats in Uttar Pradesh amid large scale violence, maybe touting the victory as an indicator of things to come in next year's assembly elections in the state, but the history shows a different picture.

The last two district Panchayat polls in the state showed that the ruling parties had won them comprehensively but in the assembly elections, which were held a year later, they lost the polls.

In 2010 the BSP, which was in power in the state then, had won 60 of the total 71 district panchayat seats. But the party lost the assembly polls, which were held in 2011.

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BSP could win only 80 seats in the 2011 assembly elections while the Samajwadi Party (SP), which could manage to win only three district panchayat seats, won 224 seats in the assembly polls.

Similarly, in the 2016 Panchayat polls, the ruling SP had registered a massive win by capturing 63 of the 74 district panchayat seats. The BJP had then managed to win only five district panchayat seats.

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But in the assembly elections, which were held a year later, BJP made a clean sweep winning 325 of the 403 seats. The SP could manage to win only 49 seats.

This time the BJP, the ruling party, has won 67 of 74 district panchayat seats and the assembly polls in the state are scheduled to be held early next year.

''The ruling parties have always won the panchayat polls.....the local administration favours the ruling party politicians for obvious reasons,'' remarked a Lucknow based media analyst while speaking to DH.

There were reports of large-scale violence in the polls for district panchayats and Block Pramukhs. In many places, the candidates of the Opposition parties were not allowed to file nomination papers. There are also reports of kidnappings of the Block Development Committee members to prevent them from casting their votes.

In Unnao, the cameraman of a local TV channel was chased and kicked by the chief development officer (CDO), who was angry over the airing of footage showing BJP leaders assaulting the rivals.

In Etawah, a BJP leader allegedly slapped a senior police official while his supporters threw bombs and opened fire after the latter tried to stop them from entering a polling booth. Alleged BJP workers yanked the saree of an SP woman candidate in the Lakhimpur Kheri district.