The nomination process for the first phase of polling in the crucial urban local body’s poll in UP commenced on Sunday. Altogether 24 districts will go to polls in the first phase where polling is scheduled on November 22.
The notification for the three-phase elections to the urban local bodies was issued on Friday last by the state election commission. The last date of filing of papers for the first of polls is November 6. Scrutiny of papers would be done the next day while November 9 is the last date for withdrawal.
The districts going to polls in the first phase on November 22 are Shamli, Meerut, Hapur, Bijnore, Badaun, Hathras, Kasganj, Agra, Kanpur, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Chitrakoot, Kaushambi, Pratapgarh, Unnao, Hardoi, Amethi, Faizabad, Gonda, Basti, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Ghazipur and Sonebhadra.
In the first phase of polling on November 22, voting would be held in 24 districts covering five nagar nigam, 71 nagar palika parishad and 154 nagar panchayats. In the break-up provided by SEC, 230 local bodies will go to polls in the first phase, covering 4,095 wards. As per the SEC in the first phase of elections five municipal corporations in five districts will go to polls, spread over 430 wards served by 4,697 booths. Similarly, elections will be held in 1,819 wards under 71 municipalities in 22 districts. Further, elections will be held for 152 nagar panchayats in 24 districts comprising 1,846 wards.
The elections of the urban local bodies would be the first test of the popularity of the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in the state which came to power on March 19 last.
In the first phase of polls the stakes are high for both the BJP and the main opposition Samajwadi party as Gorakhpur; the native town of the chief minister Yogi Adityanath goes to polls. Gorakhpur has one nagar nigam and 8 nagar panchyat. The BJP controls the nagar nigam while Samajwadi party commands support in nagar panchyats. Azamgarh, the lok Sabha constituency of the Samajwadi party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav. Its core area of the Muslim-Yadav social coalition sustaining the Samajwadi Party in eastern UP.
State Election Commissioner (SEC) S K Agarwal said here on Sunday that the nomination process started after the returning officers notified the poll process for the first phase of polls. Voting for 16 municipal corporations, 198 municipalities and 438 panchayats will be held in three phases on November 22, 26 and 29 and results are expected on December 1.However, elections to the Bharwari municipality in Kaushambi district, which was upgraded by the Yogi Adityanath government, would not be held.