BJP's Sanyukta Bhatia in UP is set to be the first woman mayor of Lucknow in 100 years
Sanyukta Bhatia of the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh is set to be the first woman mayor of state capital Lucknow in 100 years. Before counting began this morning for the urban body polls, the 70-year-old prayed at two temples and a Gurudwara. After four straight Mayor wins in Lucknow, she doesn't really need divine intervention.
"I will be number one, no matter who is second or third," she told reporters, adding that she didn't consider anyone competition.
She also announced her plans for her new role. "Like a woman takes care of her family and house sensitively and properly, in the similar manner I will make the city neat and clean. All problems will be solved very soon," she said.
Ms Gupta belongs to a family of BJP members and supporters and her husband Satish Bhatia is a former BJP lawmaker. She has been a BJP member since the party was founded in 1980.
Her rivals were Meera Vardhan of the Samajwadi Party and Prema Awasthi of the Congress.
This is the first time the historic Lucknow got to vote for a woman mayor - the seat has been reserved for women - since the Uttar Pradesh Municipalities Act was enacted in 1916.
"Our time has come," she had said when asked about a woman mayor for Lucknow, a city that has always been a VIP constituency and was once held by former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Ms Gupta campaigned extensively for the polls and promised to make Lucknow a "clean, beautiful, safe, planned and smart city."