The results of the local body elections in Uttar Pradesh were declared on Saturday, May 13. Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the biggest winner sweeping all the municipal corporations and major municipalities and town panchayats. In the Muslim-majority town of Deoband in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, BJP secured a victory for the first time in its history. Party candidate Vipin Garg became the first non-Muslim chairman of the Deoband municipality in the last 140 years.
The Deoband election proved to be highly captivating this time around. Vipin Garg, a trusted associate of Brijesh Singh, the local MLA and a minister of state in the Yogi Adityanath government, ran as the BJP candidate. He competed against Zahir Fatima, the wife of former SP MLA Mavia Ali. Notably, other political parties also nominated Muslim candidates for the election. However, it was Vipin Garg from the BJP who emerged victorious, securing a historic win.
Islamic educational institution Darul Uloom is situated in Deoband, due to which there is a significant Muslim-majority population in the area. Vipin Garg of the BJP emerged victorious by a margin of 4,700 votes, defeating Zahir Fatima from the Samajwadi Party. The counting was conducted under stringent security measures at the polling station in the Gokulchand Rahati Devi Girls Inter College. The BJP candidate took the lead right from the first round and maintained his lead till the end.
Vipin Garg got a total of 22,659 votes while Zaheer Fatima secured the second position with 17,959 votes. Jamaluddin Ansari, the BSP candidate, claimed the third spot with 7,079 votes. The Congress candidate Naushad Qureshi received a mere 483 votes.
In other mayoral elections in the district, BJP’s Ajay Kumar defeated BSP’s Khadija Masood by a margin of 8,031 votes in Saharanpur. Of the 11 civic bodies in the district, three were won by the BJP, three by independents and two each by the SP and BSP. Rashtriya Lok Dal won one civic body.