The Uttar Pradesh Urban local body elections will take place in two phases on May 4 and 11, with vote counting on May 13, the State Election Commission announced on Sunday. A total of 14,684 seats in 760 urban local bodies will be contested.
Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, State Election Commissioner Manoj Kumar issued the notification for the elections stating: “The voting for the urban local body polls will be held on May 4 and 11.”
Voting for the upcoming elections will take place with nine divisions being covered in each phase. The first phase will include Saharanpur, Moradabad, Agra, Jhansi, Prayagraj, Lucknow, Devi Patan, Gorakhpur, and Varanasi divisions. The second phase, on the other hand, will cover Meerut, Bareilly, Aligarh, Kanpur, Chitrakoot, Ayodhya, Basti, Azamgarh, and Mirzapur divisions.
Model code of conduct across the state has come into force after the issuance of the election notification.
Increase in Number of Urban Voters
The State Election Commissioner said there has been an increase in the number of urban voters from 3,35,95,547 to 4,32,31,827. “As per final data received by the commission after voter list revision, a total 96,36,280 new voters have been added this time,” Kumar said.
Kumar said the rise in numbers is due to the inclusion of rural areas into urban bodies, i.e. nagar nigams, nagar palikas, and nagar panchayats.
“As many as 21,23,268 of the total new voters were earlier village residents before their transfer to urban areas,” he added.
He further said, 4,33,088 were first-time voters who turned 18 on January 1, 2023.
Supreme Court Judgement
Following the Supreme Court’s decision on March 27, the Uttar Pradesh State Election Commission was granted permission to issue a notification for the urban local body polls in the state, with an OBC quota based on a report of the Uttar Pradesh Backward Classes Commission.
The elections will be a battleground for political parties, such as the ruling BJP and the principal opposition Samajwadi Party, as they aim to solidify their positions ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Uttar Pradesh is a politically crucial state as it sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha.
(With inputs from PTI, IANS)
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