BJP EYES HINDUTVA, OBC VOTES IN U.P.

Targeting the win of all parliamentary seats in UP, BJP observed ‘Hindu Gaurav Diwas’ on the second death anniversary of Ex UP CM Late Kalyan Singh. 

On the occasion of Hindu Gaurav Diwas, the ruling party gathered leaders from almost all castes on its platform, even as the rally was addressed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his ministers, Home Minister Amit Shah, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and other central ministers. 

Rajat Sharma | India TV | New Delhi | Aug 23, 2023:: BJP on Monday launched its poll campaign from Kalyan Singh’s home turf, Aligarh, in Uttar Pradesh. The theme was clear and the target was specific. The occasion was ‘Hindu Gaurav Diwas’ celebrated by the party in Aligarh to commemorate the second death anniversary of Late Kalyan Singh. The ruling party gathered leaders from almost all castes on its platform, even as the rally was addressed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his ministers, Home Minister Amit Shah, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and other central ministers Sanjiv Balyan and B L Verma.

Amit Shah said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fulfilled all the dreams of backward Lodh caste leader Kalyan Singh. He said, Kalyan Singh wanted a huge Ram Temple in Ayodhya which will be opened early next year. Shah reminded that it was Kalyan Singh who was the strategist behind BJP winning 73 out of 80 seats from UP for the first time. Shah said the target this time is to win all the 80 seats, and “this will be a fitting tribute to him”. Both Amit Shah and Yogi remembered Kalyan Singh as a “true Ram Bhakt” who chose to sacrifice his chief ministership post-Babri mosque demolition in Ayodhya. Amit Shah recalled how Kalyan Singh guided him in 2013 in strategizing the landslide win from UP during the Lok Sabha polls. Clearly,

BJP is sending out the message this time about consolidation of Hindutva and OBC votes in UP. This was evident from the big line-up of leaders and ministers on the dais, from upper castes to backwards and Dalits. From Vasundhara Raje to both Deputy CMs of UP, Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, anil Rajbhar, Sandeep Singh, Swatantra Dev Singh, Jatin Prasad and state party chief Bhupendra Chaudhary. BJP has the highest hopes from Uttar Pradesh for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The party leadership feels that BJP may win more LS seats this time compared to 2019, when the NDA had won 64 seats.

The party expects to improve its tally. Even those opposed to BJP admit that the party can win anything from 70 to 75 LS seats in UP. There are two main reasons: One, Yogi Adityanath has transformed the law and order scene in UP. The man on the street feels himself safe and is living a peaceful life. This has had its effect on economic development. Earlier, industrialists used to fear investing in UP, but now, the state has become a favourite destination for investors. Two, the dedication of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in January by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a huge emotional effect. For 600 years, the Ram Janmasthan has been a symbol of faith for millions of Hindus.

At the rally, both Shah and Yogi repeatedly referred to the construction of Ram Temple. Meanwhile, BJP has started mobilizing both forward and backward castes, apart from Dalits. Both Shah and Yogi have tuned the caste equations to a large extent. At the moment, I can only say, it is a “work in progress”.

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Courtesy: India TV.