UP Municipal Election Result 2023: BJP leads Nikay Chunav results in Prayagraj, Kanpur, Lucknow

Counting of votes to decide the fate of candidates for 14,864 posts across 760 Urbal Local Bodies (ULBs) in UP started at 8 AM today. Early trends show BJP leading in Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Varanasi mayor races. At 10.14 am, BJP was also leading in all 17 Mayor seats of the state where elections were held this year. The BJP was also ahead in Nagar Panchayat and Nagar Parishad polls.

The UP municipal elections, held in two phases on May 4 and 11, has a total of 4.32 crore voters to elect 1,420 corporators to Municipal Corporations and 5,327 members to Nagar Panchayats and 7,177 members to Nagar Palikar Parishads. While the voter turnout was recorded at 52 per cent in phase 1, the second phase of voting saw the participation of over 50 per cent.

The civic body polls in the state are being seen as a test of popularity for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The primary contest in the state is between the ruling BJP and the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party. The poll process was largely peaceful with police stating that reports of minor clashes were reported from a few districts. There have also been some reports of malfunctioning EVMs while Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the polls were rigged by the BJP in several areas with the support of official machinery. The final result is expected to be announced by the evening where EVMs were used for voting.