New Delhi/IBNS: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Tuesday said that the state would set up a commission to conduct a survey of OBCs on the basis of the Supreme Court guidelines to provide reservations to the community.

The election will not be held before the survey and grant of reservation, he said, adding that if required the state will challenge the Allahabad High Court's order for immediate notification of the election in the Supreme Court.

Adityanath’s comments came after the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court, comprising Justices DK Upadhyay and Saurav Lavania, scrapped the state government’s December 5 draft notification on urban local body elections.

Earlier this month, the state issued a provisional list of reserved seats for mayors of 17 municipal corporations, chairpersons of 200 municipal councils and 545 nagar panchayats –a reservation of around 30 percent, as was provided in during the 2017 elections.

Four mayoral seats –Aligarh, Mathura-Vrindavan, Meerut and Prayagraj –were reserved for OBC candidates. Besides, chairpersons' seats in 200 municipal councils were reserved for OBCs, 147 of chairpersons' seats in 545 nagar panchayats were also reserved for OBC candidates.

This was criticised by the opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and PILs were filed against the move with the petitioners contending that the state government did not follow the Supreme Court's triple test formula.

In 2021, the top court had ordered that the states should hold a "triple test survey" to gather the latest data on OBCs to decide on the percentage of quota by appointing a commission.

The reservation in local bodies should be allocated such that the total reservation in each seat does not exceed 50 percent, the ruling had added.

The survey was ordered to study the political backwardness of OBCs before fixing reservations. SC had noted that the criterion for political quota is different from the one for jobs and education and a survey was necessary to ascertain the nature and patterns of backward-ness.

In its judgment on Tuesday, the HC rejected the state government's argument that it had conducted a quick survey that was as good as the triple test formula.  The bench ordered the OBCs to vote without reservation and Election Commission to immediately issue notification for the election.