SP sweeps UP legislative council polls, BJP draws a duck

Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) received a shot in its arm on Sunday as it won 23 out of 28 local bodies seats in the legislative council. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won two seats, the Congress one and the Bharatiya Janata Party drew a duck.

Two other seats were bagged by independent candidates. With Sunday's victory, the SP has gained a majority in the 100-member upper house. Seven SP candidates were declared elected unopposed.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) claimed that the victory was "acceptance and endorsement" of the governance and developmental agenda pushed by the Akhilesh Yadav government in the state. SP national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav said that the mood of the state showed that the party will romp back to power in the state assembly polls, slated for early 2017.

The BJP, which was handed over a stunning defeat, however sought to downplay the victory of the ruling party, attributing it to muscle and money power. "The victory has very little meaning as it was won on basis of political power, muscle and money" said state BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak.