Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati's BSP, routed in the Lok Sabha election of 2014, has put up an impressive show in the Panchayat polls in and around Agra, officials say.
The ruling Samajwadi Party also seems to have done fairly well in Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah and Kasganj districts.
Of the 33 seats in Firozabad, near Agra, it has won 20 and bagged 26 of the 32 seats in its stronghold Mainpuri.
In Agra and Mathura, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has proved it has its Dalit vote bank firmly in grip.
Of the 51 seats in Agra, the BSP has won 17 and claims the support of several independents.
The Congress has been routed in the region. It is not very good news for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too.
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"BJP leaders will need to do a lot of soul searching before they lay the road map to the 2017 assembly elections," said Vrindavan activist Madhu Mangal Shukla.
Independents continue to confuse the outcome of the elections. Many are expected to switch sides in the coming days.
While BJP leaders were jubilant after winning 10 of the 38 seats in Mathura, BJP MP Hema Malini admitted the party could have fared better.
She credited the BJP's "fairly good performance" in Madhura to "Sri Radhey Krishna".
The actress-turned-politician told IANS that she was expecting at least 15 seats of the 38 but "even 10 is a good number compared to previous showing".
BSP district coordinator Yogesh Dwivedi said his party had won 12 seats in Mathura.
The Rashtriya Lok Dal, a net loser, claimed the rural folk continued to support it.
BJP circles were upbeat though a few leaders felt it could have done much better in the region if local leaders had closed ranks.
"The BJP is faction ridden. Due to inflated egos of some leaders, Hema Malini has not been getting the full support of the party," said a source.
The panchayat elections became prestigious for the ruling Samajwadi Party which threw all its resources to ensure a clear victory.
The results, however, did not go the party's way, and this has given anxious moments to its strategists ahead of the 2017 assembly polls, said a Samajwadi source.
BSP leaders say the party has done very well in Aligarh, Hathras, Mathura and Agra districts.
"From here on, we need to keep 2017 in mind," said a party leader.