(DNA)
The result of the Uttar Pradesh civil polls on Friday will have a bearing on the forthcoming Gujarat Assembly elections and Lok Sabha polls 2019. The civil polls were held for over 198 nagar palika parishads (municpal council), 438 muncipal boards (nagar panchayats) and 16 municipal corporation (nagar nigams) in 75 districts. Around 3.3 crore have exercised their voting rights with 79,113 candidates.
This poll is a big test for Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after an emphatic win during Uttar Pradesh Assembly election. Now, the result of civil polls will reveal whether his hardline Hindutva image has gone down well with the voters of the state or not.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress, which forged an alliance in the 2017 Lok Sabha elections, have contested separately this time. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has also fought for the election, however, Mayawati has not campaigned for the polls. Unlike Mayawati, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has also taken a back seat with no serious campaigning to win over the voters.