The ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh has virtually swept the panchayat elections even though it had earlier declined to participate in the election process.
BSP-supported candidates have managed to win maximum seats in the just-concluded panchayat polls, sending shock waves in Opposition circles.
The wives of UP ministers Lalji Varma, (Ambedkar Nagar), Choudhury Laxmi Narain (Mathura) and Fateh Bahadur Singh (Gorakhpur) have won their seats in the panchayat polls.
The brother and nephew of UP minister, Swami Prasad Maurya have won their seats from Pratapgarh while in Barabanki, the brother and sister-in-law of UP minister, Sangram Singh have got the victory certificate.
In Sitapur, the wife of UP minister, Ramhet Bharti has been elected and in Hardoi, BSP MP Naresh Agarwal’s brother and sister-in-law have emerged victorious. In Muzaffarnagar, the sister-in-law of UP Cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh has won the elections.
The losers, on the other hand, include Indu Sen, wife of BSP MLA Anand Sen Yadav, who is presently in jail on charges of plotting the abduction and murder of his pregnant girlfriend Shashi.
In Jaunpur, wife of SP MP Toofani Saroj is among the losers while in the same district, the son of former minister Parasnath Yadav has also lost the elections.
The most shocking defeat, however, is that of Aditya Yadav, son of Leader of Opposition, Shivpal Singh Yadav. Aditya Yadav lost from Etawah, which is considered the bastion of the Samajwadi Party. Aditya is the second family member in a year to lose elections. Last year, it was Dimple Yadav, daughter-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav, who faced defeat in the Ferozabad byelections where she lost to Raj Babbar of the Congress.