Political parties trade barbs ahead of UP urban body polls

LUCKNOW: The war of words has escalated among political parties in UP ahead of urban local body polls with the BJP saying that rival parties were waging a battle to keep their electoral identity intact while the Congress asserted that the ruling party will be wiped out in the polls.
The state will witness civic polls in three phases from November 22, making it the first electoral test for the ruling BJP, which stormed to power in the Assembly elections earlier this year with a massive mandate.
Launching an attack on rivals, UP Dairy Development Minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary said, "Rival political parties in the state are waging a war in the urban local bodies polls to save their electoral and political identity".
"Rival parties also want to give proof that they are alive, and hence decided to contest urban local bodies elections on party symbols. But, they will not be able to stop the lotus from blooming across Uttar Pradesh," he said.
He exuded confidence that the BJP will sweep urban local body elections.
"In the 2012 Assembly elections, when BJP won only 47 seats, the party had bagged 10 out of 12 mayoral seats in the state in the urban local body polls. So, this time with an overwhelming tally in the UP Assembly, we are confident that we will come out with flying colours," Chaudhary told PTI.
Reacting to Chaudhary's statement, the Congress said "BJP will be wiped out from the state."
UP Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh said, "Congress has always been contesting elections on party symbols. We have won elections in the past as well. Last time, we won the Bareilly mayoral polls. The BJP should stop exhibiting dual face and character. In this urban local body polls,the BJP will be wiped out from the state."
Samajwadi Party spokesman Sunil Singh Sajan said voters will decide who will survive and who will perish.
"In the past seven months, the Yogi Adityanath government has failed to deliver on the promises it had made in the Assembly election," he charged.
"This is a statement stemming out of sheer fear of losing the (urban local bodies) elections. The urban voters in the state have made up their mind to teach a lesson to the BJP in the urban local bodies elections."
As per the poll schedule, 24 districts will go to polls on November 22, while 25 districts on November 26, and 26 districts on November 29.
Counting of votes for 16 nagar nigams, 198 nagar palika parishads and 438 nagar panchayats will be done on December 1, he said.
Nearly 3.32 crore voters will be eligible to cast their votes at 36,269 polling booths and 11,389 polling stations.