BJP and Congress both claim majority in Uttarakhand Panchayat polls despite non-party-based voting

As counting for the three-tier panchayat elections in Uttarakhand concluded on Thursday night, both the ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress claimed victory on Friday. Both parties asserted that they will hold a majority in the 89 Block Panchayats and 12 District Panchayats where elections were conducted.

Reacting to the results announced by the State Election Commission on Friday, the BJP stated that a majority of the candidates supported by it had won in the 7,499 village panchayats, 89 Kshetra Panchayats, and 12 District Panchayats where elections were held in two phases in July.

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“A large number of BJP-supported candidates have won in the recently concluded elections for village panchayat heads, Kshetra Panchayat members, and District Panchayat members across the state. I thank the people of Uttarakhand for turning out in large numbers and casting their votes, with a turnout of 70 percent despite the monsoon. Now, the elected representatives must work hard to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making India a developed nation,” said Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

“BJP-backed candidates have registered massive victories in the elections for Gram Pradhan and District Panchayat members. It is confirmed that the BJP will form its boards in all 89 blocks and elect its presidents in all 12 District Panchayats. This victory reflects the BJP’s organizational strength and the people’s trust in us. The Congress should now introspect instead of making baseless allegations,” said State BJP President Mahendra Bhatt.

BJP State Media In-Charge Manveer Chauhan added that the victory of party-supported candidates as District Panchayat members, Kshetra Panchayat members, village pradhans, and ward members is evidence of strong public support for the BJP.

“The scale of our candidates’ victories ensures that the BJP will secure all 12 District Panchayat presidencies and a majority of the 89 Kshetra Panchayat presidencies in the days to come,” he said.

However, the Congress was equally assertive in claiming success for its supported candidates across all three levels of panchayat bodies. State Congress President Karan Mahra said, “These results are proof of the massive public support for Congress-backed candidates in the panchayat polls. Voters have given a clear mandate to the Congress in all three categories of panchayat bodies. People have rejected the BJP and the malpractices of the State Election Commission. BJP candidates have even lost in constituencies considered strongholds of their senior leaders, yet the party is distributing sweets.”

“While we are still assessing the number of village panchayats won by our candidates, Congress-supported nominees have secured 138 of the 198 District Panchayat constituencies they contested. In addition, more than half of the Kshetra Panchayat bodies have been won by Congress-backed and independent candidates. The BJP’s claims are false. The ruling party has suffered a massive setback in the panchayat polls,” said senior Congress leader and State Vice President Suryakant Dhasmana.

Panchayat elections in Uttarakhand were held in two phases on July 24 and July 28 for 7,499 village panchayat Pradhans, 2,974 members of 89 Kshetra Panchayats (BDCs), and 358 constituencies of 12 District Panchayats, excluding Haridwar. Counting took place on July 31. However, the State Election Commission did not release party-wise results as voting was not conducted on party symbols.

Presidential elections for Kshetra and District Panchayats will be held in the coming days, and unlike the earlier rounds, these will be conducted on party symbols. The electorate for these elections will comprise the newly elected panchayat members.