BJP suffers major setback in panchayat polls in Ayodhya, Varanasi & Mathura

After a major defeat in the Bengal assembly polls 2021, the saffron party suffers a major setback with the results of the Panchayat elections held last month. when the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party has won a comprehensive victory in Varanasi and Ayodhya Mayawati's BSP and Ajit Singh's RLD topped in Mathura.

It's a particularly depressing defeat for the BJP as there has been a special focus on these three districts during the Yogi government's four-year tenure.

In Varanasi, which is the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 2 consecutive times, the saffron party managed to win only 8 out of 40 seats of the district panchayat when the Samajwadi Party has won 14 seats, BSP got 5 seats, and Apna Dal (S) scored three seats. Aam Aadmi Party also opened its account in the Varanasi district.

BJP has also faced an embarrassing defeat in Mathura where Mayawati's BSP has won 12 seats and Chaudhary Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal has won 9 seats. BJP got 8 seats here. At the same time, the SP opened its account with just one seat. Congress failed to score any seat, while 3 independents won.

In Ayodhya, the Samajwadi Party swept 24 out of 40 seats in the district. BJP managed to win only 6 seats. The rest were captured by independents.

All three districts of Ayodhya-Mathura-Kashi have always been at the centre of the BJP's political agenda. The BJP also takes full credit for the Ram temple that is being constructed in Ayodhya. After Ayodhya, the BJP has also taken up the issue of Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura and the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi.