Buoyed by the results of the three-tier panchayat elections, Rashtriya Lok Dal national vice-president Jayant Chaudhary said that the hard work of contestants and their fighter-like approach in highlighting public issues, their all time presence among public and struggle for disposal of public problems nailed the victory.
Addressing the newly-elected public representatives, Chaudhary said that now the winners had double responsibility on their shoulders. “The first is to live up to the trust and support and second, to prepare for the 2022 UP Assembly polls. You cannot relax or celebrate, this is the time to serve and support everyone affected by the onslaught of the pandemic,” he said.
Meanwhile, RLD national spokesperson Anupam Mishra congratulated all the party-supported candidates and said that the large number of party backed candidates of zila panchayat and hundreds of gram pradhans had registered victories so far.  In hundreds of seats, the RLD-supporteds candidates have lost elections by meagre numbers.
“In the recent panchayat elections, people have rejected the ruling BJP.  The BJP has not been able to win even a quarter of its target of 75 to 80% of seats, despite the government's full power of MPs, MLAs and government machinery being grossly misused.  The poll results indicate a major change in the politics of Uttar Pradesh,” he said. Mishra further said that the anti-farmer stand of BJP government at the Centre will be its undoing.
“There is a lot of resentment among poor laborers, farmers and youth in rural areas towards the Union and UP governments today.  The way the RLD moved out of its traditional land of western UP and spread its existence in Purvanchal and Bundelkhand, has made the ruling party very anxious. In the panchayat elections, several BJP leaders and their kin were dismissed by the people which indicates a massive change in the offing,” he said.
“This is evident from the fact that the BJP suffered major setbacks in the Prime Minister's parliamentary constituency Varanasi and in the chief minister’s home district Gorakhpur, Mishra pointed out.
The RLD spokesman said that his part had already started preparing the road map for the 2022 assembly elections, keeping in view the trust and confidence of the people.
Welcoming the implementation of the Central government’s welfare scheme for journalists in Uttar Pradesh, Mishra termed the decision as late but the right step and said that all journalists and photographers associated should be given the status of frontline workers and they be vaccinated on a priority basis in this pandemic like physicians and health workers.