Contrary to the general belief, the SP was not a loser in the 2006 municipal elections. Rather, it was a gainer all around as compared to the previous municipal elections in 2000. The SP maintained its seat tally in the mayoral elections, but gained 45 more seats in the municipal corporations. In the municipal councils, it got 23 more chairmen and 133 more members, whereas in the nagar panchayats it won 35 more chairpersons’ and 254 more members’ seats. The fact that the rural-based party did well in the urban centres was a good signal for the party. But Mulayam Singh is on the defensive: First his ally RLD deserted him, then there was a dismissal possibility, and now there is the Supreme Court’s indictment in the disproportionate assets case.

The BJP had swept the mayoral elections winning 8 out of 12 seats; it also won 58 more seats in the municipal corporations. But, the party lost heavily both at the municipal council and the nagar panchayat levels. That showed that an urban-based party was facing erosion in its own fort notwithstanding its victories in the big urban centres. With the electorate apparently rejecting the party’s ideology of hindutva combined with an upper caste shift — the Brahmins to BSP and the Thakurs to SP — the BJP faces a big challenge in the assembly elections.

The Congress had improved its performance at all levels except in the municipal councils where its chairpersons’ tally was reduced by two. The party won three new mayors’ seats at Allahabad, Jhansi and Bareilly, but its mayor lost at Kanpur. It recorded substantial gains at the municipal council and nagar panchayat levels, thanks to the tactical voting by BSP. With the Muslims finding themselves at the cross-roads, and the dalits seemingly bewildered at the brahminisation of BSP, the Congress may want to move swiftly to reclaim its erstwhile constituencies.

... contd.