Battle for UP: Farmers' stir will not dent BJP's prospects, says party leader
Darpan News Desk IANS, 17 Jan, 2022 12:12 PM
New Delhi, Jan 17 (IANS) The farmers' agitation against the three contentious farm laws, which were later revoked, will not impact BJP's victory in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections as the peasants of western part of the state will vote in favour of the party, a veteran BJP leader said.
Talking to IANS, he said: "The story of BJP's victory in Uttar Pradesh will start from the first phase on February 10, and will continue till the seventh and final phase."
In the first phase on February 10, polling will be held for a total of 58 seats and in the second phase for 55 seats on February 14. The Braj region is said to be the stronghold of farmers. National spokesperson of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Rakesh Tikait also hails from this region and it is being believed that the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) alliance has also weakened the chances of BJP's win.
However, contrary to the claims of SP president Akhilesh Yadav and RLD chief Jayant Choudhary, the BJP veteran claimed that the farmers' agitation will have no effect in the first two phases of elections and the party will win equal or more seats than it did in 2017.
In the first two phases, a total of 113 seats will be up for grabs. Of this, the BJP has announced its candidature in 105 seats and will declare the candidates for the remaining 8 seats soon.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, a skilled election strategist of the BJP, will be in Uttar Pradesh again from January 23. It is being said that Shah has plans to tour the entire state, including the west and the Braj region, to woo the farmers back.
As part of the election campaign, Shah is also likely to meet leaders of the Jat community in the western part of the state. Moreover, the party is also expecting a huge public support in Braj on the issue of Mathura.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday said that they have arrested a senior DSIIDC official and another man in connection with a a Rs 1.70 lakh bribery case. The accused were identified as Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) senior manager S.K. Singh and Subhash.
Just a month away from the Assembly polls in Punjab, the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM), a group of farm organisations, in its maiden electoral foray after getting the Central agricultural laws revoked, on Wednesday released its first list of 10 candidates out of 117 seats.
After the Model Code of Conduct came into force in the state for the Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections, enforcement teams have seized valuables worth Rs 23.8 crore in violation of code, besides confiscating unaccounted cash till January 12, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Punjab S. Karuna Raju said on Thursday.
Channi expressed regret while participating in a virtual meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi with Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors/Administrators of states and UTs to review the prevailing Covid situation as well as the ongoing vaccination drive.
Unveiling the first set of plans in his Punjab Model with focus on resurrection of Punjab, Sidhu, in the absence of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and his Cabinet colleagues, told the media here: "Punjab Model is people's model, an effort to give a roadmap to return power to people."
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said that he "personally" feels that alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab had cost the BJP heavily.
