BJP wins but UP ministers lose in their home districts

Even as the BJP rejoices over its overwhelming success in UP municipal polls, there is also embarrassment in store for the party since a number of ministers have failed to ensure the party`s victory in their respective constituencies. Bureaucrat-turned-politician and UP minister Arvind Kumar Sharma`s candidate has lost to the BSP in his home district Mau in the post of chairman of Nagar Palika.

UP minister for animal husbandry Dharampal Singh has also faced the defeat as his candidate Sanjeev Saxena in Aonla Nagar Palika in Bareilly lost to Abid Ali of SP.

In Rae Bareli, UP minister Dinesh Pratap Singh could not ensure the victory of BJP`s Shalini Kannaujia and the Congress won the seat of chairman of Nagar Palika.

UP minister Gulab Devi could not ensure the victory of BJP candidates on two Nagar Palikas in her constituency Sambhal. One seat here was won by an independent and the other by AIMIM.

The BJP has lost in Kannauj, the constituency of UP minister Aseem Arun, and in Rampur, the constituency of UP minister Baldev Singh Aulakh.

The BJP also faced defeat in both the Nagar Palika of Aligarh which is the hometown of former chief minister, late Kalyan Singh. His son Rajveer Singh is MP from here and his grandson Sandeep Singh is UP minister from here.

The BJP also lost in the ward of Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya in Kaushambhi.

Another UP minister Nitin Agarwal also could not ensure the victory of the BJP from his own ward.

Interestingly, the party has also lost in both the Nagar palikas that come within the constituency of BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in Gonda. Singh is currently mired in a major controversy related to sexual harassment of wrestlers. Singh is the head of the Wrestling Federation of India.

It may be recalled that before the municipal elections, the UP BJP had asked all its MPs and MLAs to take the responsibility of ensuring the party`s victory in their respective constituencies.

"It is undoubtedly a serious matter that a number of ministers could not make the party candidate win in their respective areas. The party will definitely make an assessment of the situation and act accordingly," said a senior party functionary.