The BJP won 67 of 75 seats of the district panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.

Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party won only five seats. The Rashtriya Lok Dal, Jansatta Dal and an independent candidate won a seat each.

In comparison, back in the same election in 2016, Mr Yadav's party took 60 of the 75 seats, reported NDTV.

State BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh said the success of the party was due to the welfare policies initiated by its government and the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

"The BJP+ (BJP and its allies) has won 67 out of 75 seats of zila panchayat chairpersons. For these unprecedented results, I thank the people of the state and hardworking party workers," he said in a Hindi tweet.

Those analysing the elections, however, say the local body polls are unlikely to be any indicator of which direction the wind will blow in the assembly election next year, which will also serve as an ultimate test for Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of the BJP. Yet, the local body elections are being keenly watched.

Samajwadi Party workers who held a street protest on Saturday alleging rigging in the local body election in Prayagraj, formerly Allahabad, were met with police baton charge.

"The BJP has won 67 out of 75 district panchayat chairperson seats. We will win 2022 assembly elections also," UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh told news agency ANI.

Twenty-one BJP candidates and one from Samajwadi Party got elected unopposed.

The result comes as a huge setback for Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, who is hoping to dethrone the Yogi Adityanath govt in the Assembly election of 2022.