Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has welcomed the Supreme Court order allowing the state government’s petition for accepting the OBC commission report and allowing the urban local bodies’ elections along with reservation of seats for the Other Backward Classes.
The apex court on Monday allowed the UP government’s petition on municipal elections and reservations for the OBCs. The notification for the elections is likely to be issued in the next 48 hours.
“We welcome the Supreme Court order accepting the report of the OBC commission and holding the elections of the urban local bodies in the state with reservations of seats for the OBCs. The state government is committed to holding these polls within the time frame set by the Supreme Court,” the chief minister tweeted.
The Supreme Court on January 5 had stayed the December 27 order of the Allahabad High Court that allowed notification of elections of state municipal bodies in Uttar Pradesh without any reservation for Other Backward Classes. The SC decision was a major relief for the UP government since the issue had become a political hot potato in the state.
Hearing separate appeals of the UP government and UP State Election Commission against the December 27 verdict of the High Court, a bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha said: “High Court has directed to go ahead with the elections. This cannot be accepted as we see that a segment of the state would remain unrepresented.”
In Uttar Pradesh, backward groups were crucial for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s phenomenal electoral performance in 2022, when it became the first party in three decades to return to power in the state, and the High Court’s verdict had put the Yogi Adityanath government under pressure from opposition parties who were blaming the BJP for failing to protect reservations for the OBCs.
The High Court, in its December order, set aside a government notification on quota for Other Backward Classes in local bodies’ elections on the grounds that the state must follow a “triple test formula” laid down by a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court in 2010 before carrying out such an exercise.
The triple test requires the state to set up a dedicated commission to conduct a rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of the backwardness of OBCs with respect to local bodies, specify the proportion of reservation in light of the commission’s proposals, and not exceed the 50 per cent quota cap as held by the Supreme Court in its 1992 landmark judgement.