The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led by Mayawati, has made its presence known in the upcoming local body elections in Uttar Pradesh by declaring its mayoral candidates for 10 municipal corporations. With the elections being considered a semi-final before the big Lok Sabha poll battle in 2024, the BSP is leaving no stone unturned in its preparations.
One of the notable nominations is Sayeed Ahmed as the BSP candidate for Prayagraj Municipal Corporation, amid discussions about the potential candidacy of Shaista, wife of mafia Atiq Ahmed. Additionally, Subhash Chandra Manjhi has been nominated for Varanasi Municipal Corporation, while Lata has been fielded for Agra Municipal Corporation, Raja Mohtasim Ahmed for Mathura-Vrindavan Municipal Corporation, Rukhsana Begum for Firozabad Municipal Corporation, and Bhagwan Das Phule for Jhansi Municipal Corporation, among others. The BSP aims to represent a diverse range of candidates to ensure that every segment of society is taken care of by urban local governments.
In addition to nominating candidates, Mayawati has also called for the use of ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the mayoral polls and corporators of municipal corporations. She has emphasized the need for free and fair elections and expressed her party’s commitment to challenge any political decision that may compromise the integrity of the electoral process.
The State Election Commission has announced that the urban local body elections will be held in two phases on May 4 and May 11, with vote counting scheduled for May 13. This year, there has been an increase in the number of local bodies compared to the last elections in 2017, with one municipal corporation, one municipal council, and 105 nagar panchayats added to the list. More than 4.32 million people are expected to vote in the civic elections, a significant increase from 3.35 million in 2017, reflecting the growing importance of local body elections in Uttar Pradesh.