Despite the UP State Election Commission (SEC) holding meetings of the district officials to prepare for the Urban local body elections in June-July, there are indications that these elections are likely to be put off till October – November.
“The State election Commission is ready to hold elections with in a month’s time but the BJP and UP Government officials do not seem to be so enthused about it. Therefore, we believe these elections can be put off for three months,” a senior official told The Pioneer here on Monday.
Interestingly, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had given a hint in Moradabad and Bareilly that the urban local bodies polls could be postponed.
Sources said that the Government was likely to issue an order for the postponement citing discrepancies in voters’ list and complaints about rapid OBC survey. Besides, the BJP also wants elections to the newly formed municipal corporations — Ayodyha-Faizabad and Mathura-Vrindavan should be held along with all others municipalities. It was not possible in the June-July schedule.
Politically speaking, BJP does not want elections in June because there is fear that its voters might not turn up in this scorching heat to cast votes and party loses elections it will give opposition a hammer to beat BJP. In 2012 average voters’ turn out was 35 per cent while in cities like Allahabad and lucknow it was as low as 24 per cent.
Oblivious of these happenings State Election Commissioner, SK Agarwal, who has been visiting several areas to spruce up the preparation, is holding fort. “”I have no knowledge whether the elections would be postponed. It is up to the State Government to decide but they have not informed me yet about their decision hence we are going ahead in the preparation,” he said here today.
Agarwal has already hinted that the law and order situation in the State was not so good, but had also announced that the notification for the elections would be announced sometime in the first week of June.
SEC has extended the dates for revision of the voters list and remove the discrepancies in it till June 5.
Delay in holding local body elections is a routine in UP. It had happened previously in the tenures of Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav, when these elections were deferred by six months to one year.