Government employees in Uttar Pradesh (UP) have expressed anger against the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in Uttar Pradesh, as evidenced by the voting pattern through postal ballots in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections.
Out of a total of 236,508 votes cast through ballot papers, the NDA secured 40.75%, while the opposition alliance garnered 45.41%, giving them a notable advantage. The NDA failed to cross the 1,00,000 votes mark and received fewer votes than the opposition alliance in 45 out of 80 seats.
The primary reason for the discontent among UP's 1.6 million government employees is the unresolved issue of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). The BJP's failure to make a concrete decision regarding OPS has cost them dearly in the state.
Government employees have been continuously agitating for the reinstatement of OPS, but the central government's insistence on not reverting to the old system, instead forming a committee to improve the National Pension System (NPS), has only fueled their frustration, leading to votes against the NDA.
“The Government employees are demanding restoration of the Old Pension Scheme in UP. At various points over the course of past two years, state governments in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh, following poll assurances, reverted to OPS. In UP too different employees’ unions are demanding the restoration of OPS. The employees poured their anger through the postal ballot in this election,” said Ram Karan Singh, office-bearer of UP Secretary Employees Union.
Postal ballots are used by government employees and also included votes from disabled individuals and elderly people above 85 years. Akbarpur recorded the highest number of postal ballot votes at 7,135, followed by 5,572 in Azamgarh, 5,448 in Basti, 5,354 in Ballia and Kanpur, 5,246 in Fatehpur Sikri, and 5,145 in Baghpat. The Samajwadi Party (SP) won Akbarpur where its candidate Lalji Verma defeated Ritesh Pandey of BJP. In that constituency,
SP received 145 more postal votes than the BJP. In Hardoi, despite the BJP winning, the SP candidate received more postal ballot votes (1,389) compared to the BJP candidate (1,053).
In several constituencies where the BJP won, they still trailed behind in postal ballot counts. These include Gorakhpur, Bhadohi, Shahjahanpur, Misrikh, Hardoi, Bansgaon, Bareilly, Phulpur, Pilibhit, Deoria, Dumariyaganj, Jhansi, Gonda, Kushinagar, Kanpur, and Unnao.
On the other hand, the INDIA Alliance lagged behind the NDA on 13 of the seats they won. According to Election Commission data, the SP-Congress alliance received fewer postal ballot votes than the BJP in 13 out of the 43 seats they won. For instance, in Hamirpur, BJP received 681 postal ballot votes compared to SP's 680, a difference of just one vote. Other seats where the SP-Congress had fewer postal ballot votes include Etawah, Kairana, Kaushambi, Jalaun, Fatehpur, Badaun, Moradabad, Mohanlalganj, Rampur, Sambhal, Saharanpur, and Hamirpur.
In Nagina, Chandrashekhar, who won the seat, received 740 postal ballot votes, while the BJP secured 1,328. The SP and BSP received 270 and 7 votes, respectively.
The All Teachers Employees Welfare Association (ATEWA) had actively campaigned for the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme prior to the elections. This campaign, dubbed 'Vote for OPS,' significantly influenced the election outcomes.
Abhinav Singh Rajput, National Secretary of the National Movement for Old Pension Scheme (NMOPS), stated that employees were more inclined to vote for parties that promised to restore the OPS.
“If all teachers and employees had voted via postal ballot, the INDIA Alliance would have shown even stronger results,” he said.
Sudhir Gangwar, District President of UP Secondary Teachers Association (Ekta), emphasized the widespread demand for the restoration of the old pension across all districts, as evidenced by the postal ballot results.
He urged the government to prioritize implementing the OPS.
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