Congress plays down UP civic poll loss, says ruling party normally wins local body elections

New Delhi: The Congress on Friday downplayed its loss in the Uttar Pradesh civic polls saying such elections are contested on local issues and are normally won by the state’s ruling dispensation. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said the party will analyse the results and draw lessons for improving its performance in the future. He, however, said the results could have been different had these polls been held under the supervision of the Election Commission instead of the State Election Commission. “Local bodies elections are contested on local issues and the people of the country know very well which are national state and local issues. As far as local bodies elections are concerned, everyone knows that… it goes in favour of the party in power, to help get small works done,” Tewari said. [caption id=“attachment_4237851” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] On the effect of GST and demonetisation in the civic polls, the Congress leader said, “As far as note ban and GST is concerned, their effect will surely be seen in Gujarat elections.” Tewari said due to demonetisation and GST, maximum loss was caused to the informal sector as it comprises 40 percent of the economy, and the effects will be seen in Assembly elections like in Gujarat. “If these elections (Uttar Pradesh civic polls) were held under the supervision of the Election Commission rather than the State Election Commission, then the results would be different. “As far as these results are concerned, it is our responsibility to analyse the results. We will analyse these results in detail and draw lessons from them. We also take the responsibility for the loss. Our attempt is to draw lessons from the losses and improve the party’s performance,” he said. The BJP swept the Uttar Pradesh civic polls today, pocketing 14 of the 16 mayoral seats as Yogi Adityanath emerged on top in his first major electoral test after taking over as chief minister in March. The Congress faced the embarrassment of losing in its bastion Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituency of its vice president Rahul Gandhi.