Billed as a test run for the lok Sabha and Assembly elections slated next year, the BJP captured major chunk of top seats in 34 urban local bodies, including five municipal corporations in the State, Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Adityrapur, Giridih and Medininagar, elections for which were held on April 16.
The outcome demonstrated that that the urban voters have reposed faith in the BJP, the ruling party in the State.
The local body elections were conducted in the State for the first time on party lines and also using EVMs.
State Election Commissioner NN Pandey said that out of all 34 local bodies for which elections were held in the State, the BJP has been declared winner on 21 Mayoral and Chairman posts,
“Results have come for all 34 local bodies and BJP has been declared winner on all Mayoral and Deputy Mayoral posts in five Municipal Corporations. In Ranchi, Asha lakra won the Mayoral seat while Sanjeev Vijaywargiya has been declared winner for the post of Deputy Mayor,” said Pandey. lakra defeated JMM candidate Varsha Gari with a margin of 39,000 votes while Vijaywargiya defeated Congress candidate Rajesh Kumar Gupta with a margin of 32,000 votes by securing 1,49,623 votes, he added.
“Out of 17 Municipal Councils, the BJP was been declared winner for seven Chairman and five Vice-Chairman posts while Congress won five and three posts respectively. JMM has also secured 2 and 3 posts respectively for the posts of Chairman and Vice Chairman in Municipal Council while AJSU has to settle down for 1 seat each, he said.
“BJP, also leading in Municipal Panchayat polls, managed to secure nine seats of Chairman and five of Deputy Chairman while JMM, JVM AJSU obtained one seat each. Congress was declared winner on only one post of Vice Chairman while RJD won one post of Chairman and two posts of Vice Chairman of Nagar Panchayats,” said Pandey.
BJP has won both the posts at 15 places, while losing them in Madhupur, Dumka, Phusro, Ramgarh, lohardaga, Chaibasa Municipal Corporations. RJD also managed to secure both posts at Hussainabad Municipal Panchayat.
Elated, Chief Minister Raghubar Das asserted that the BJP was hungry for development and works only on that agenda.
Congratulating the winners at the Party headquarters, he said that people of Jharkhand have voted for BJP after looking at the development works done by it during the last 3.5 years.
“BJP works on the agenda of development only, that too across the communal lines, and hence people have given the mandate in its favour,” said Das. Opposition was not even worth debate on the issue of development which only wanted to misguide people taking help of anti-national elements, but now people have become aware of it,” he added.
The Chief Minister said that more the Opposition parties try to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi by misguiding people; more popularity he will gain across the country.