Civic polls in UP: Revised reservation criteria, changing fortunes

LUCKNOW The CVs of civic poll aspirants are being vetted afresh in offices of political parties as the revised reservation criteria following OBC commission’s recommendations has meant changing the profiles of many key seats.

An estimated 4.23 crore voters would exercise their right to franchise in these civic polls – the last big test of the mood of the urban electorate before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. National parties like the BJP and the Congress are likely to field top campaigners though parties like the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party would prefer door-to-door campaign.

Much has changed in four months since December 5 – when the Yogi 2.0 government had first issued notification. For instance, the Lucknow mayor’s seat, which was reserved for women in 2017, declared a general seat in December 5 notification has again been reserved for women, forcing parties to re-chart the selection process.

Lucknow’s outgoing mayor Sanyukta Bhatia is now lobbying for her daughter-in-law Reshu while SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav’s daughter- in-law Aparna Yadav Bisht, who switched loyalties during 2022 UP polls, is now also said to be harbouring hopes on the seat, which has been electing a mayor from the BJP for long.

“Women candidates are more in demand as the revised reservation criteria has more seats for women candidates than before,” said a senior BJP leader.

The number of seats reserved for women has gone up from 255 (December 5) to 288. UP would have 17 mayoral contests now, one more than in 2017, with Shahjahanpur also set to elect its first mayor this time.

“We will go into the civic polls talking about the good work of our double engine BJP governments. In UP, chief minister Yogi Adityanath ji has declared big ticket development projects, which would transform those places. The big change is already evident as criminals are on the run or behind bars, a development considered most important for women,” said UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary.

Of the 17 mayoral seats, Lucknow, Kanpur and Ghaziabad have been reserved for women, Agra reserved for women (SC) and Firozabad for OBC (women). So, while these seats are set to have women mayors, in the remaining seats too, several women are pushing their case.

For instance, in Prayagraj - where political permutations have changed drastically.

After December 5 poll notification, gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad’s wife Shaista Parveen had quickly joined the BSP in January to be named the party’s mayoral candidate. However, the February 24 murder of lawyer Umesh Pal led to Shaista and her entire family being named in the murder case. Ever since, Parveen is on the run, and only on Tuesday BSP formally removed her as their mayoral candidate.

Posters of Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya as a mayoral candidate on the seat have emerged on social media giving rise to fresh speculations. Abhilasha Nandi, wife of UP minister Nand Gopal Nandi - accused by Parveen of plotting against her - has been a two-term mayor from Prayagraj from BSP and is said to be eyeing another chance, this time on a BJP symbol.

In Saharanpur, Congress leader-turned-BSP man Imran Masood had even started campaigning for his wife Saima for the mayor’s post after the seat was reserved for women in the December 5 notification. Now, the seat has been reserved for OBCs.

In Ayodhya, several women candidates, including the wife of a hotelier, are said to be eyeing a mayor’s nomination. The priest of Hanumangarhi temple Raju Das, who was in the news recently following his threats against Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya over the Ramcharitmanas row, too has now emerged as a strong contender along with the outgoing mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay ever since the seat became a general category one.

In Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that had a woman (OBC) mayor in Mridula Jaiswal, daughter-in-law of a BJP veteran, two women including one who had shifted loyalties from SP to BJP, are said to be eyeing a chance. While BJP is most in demand, SP, BSP and Congress too are hoping to make an impression.

BSP chief Mayawati recently held a meeting of coordinators and ordered a door-to-door campaign. “Behenji has asked her party leaders to ensure that only deserving and dedicated get a chance,” a BSP leader said.

Samajwadi Party’s national secretary Ram Asrey Vishwakarma said there was a rush of candidates. “We will win many mayoral seats this time. The wind is against the BJP whose leaders are now getting exposed for their double-speak,” he said.

Congress leader Ashok Singh said the party would soon announce a committee to vet mayoral candidates. “Chief ministers of party-ruled states will campaign for us and we would also request the party’s UP in-charge Priyanka Gandhi to campaign,” said the Congress leader.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), had also declared its manifesto for the civic polls, promising several concessions on electricity and water bills, if the party won the urban polls.