Setback for Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh Panchayat Polls

In a major setback to Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party, relatives of many ministers and senior leaders suffered defeat in the panchayat elections.

Officials with the state Election Commission told IANS that so far results of 35,000 regional panchayat wards have been declared, and of the 3,112 posts of district panchayat members, 19 results have been declared. Counting of votes is still underway.

Many family members of ministers in the Akhilesh Yadav cabinet contested the polls but lost.

Minister Mehboob Ali's wife and son are trailing behind their rival candidates, while minister Rampal Rajvanshi's daughters have been routed in Sitapur.

The Samajwadi Party has also faced a jolt in Farukkhabad.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said: "The polls results are an indicator that the people of the state, specially in the villages, have decided to bid good bye to the corrupt and inefficient Samajwadi Party government."