LUCKNOW: With BJP on the threshold of announcing its first list of candidates which reportedly comprises the name of UP CM Yogi Adityanath who is tipped to be contesting the upcoming assembly elections from Ayodhya, the land of Lord Ram, the BJP fountainhead Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has already started the groundwork for the big battle ahead.
According to highly placed sources, Yogi, in his first assembly contest ever, is likely to be fielded from Ayodhya (Sadar) Assembly constituency. So far, Yogi Adityanath has represented Gorakhpur in Lok Sabha five times since 1998. After assuming the office of UP CM in 2017, he was elected to UP council, the upper house of the state legislature in 2018.
The first and foremost step being taken by the RSS and its frontal organizations including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Ayodhya is to increase the poll percentage by mobilizing the reluctant voters of posh localities of Ayodhya Sadar constituency to come out and exercise their franchise on the D-day.
The scenario of the constituency was reviewed at a meeting of intellectual class organised by VHP general secretary Champat Rai at the RSS office in Ayodhya where senior RSS functionaries, leaders of frontal organisations and local BJP leaders took part.
The participants of the meeting were unanimous on increasing poll percentage, especially in posh localities of the Ayodhya (Sadar) assembly constituency. RSS leaders also expressed concern over the poor turnout of voters in these posh localities and suggested identifying such localities and starting a door-to-door mobilization campaign. The BJP workers were entrusted with the responsibility of holding a robust door-to-door campaign and bringing the voters to the polling booth to cast vote.
The sources claimed that the Sangh Parivar was ready to go all out to ensure an impressive victory for Yogi Adityanath.
According to political pundit, Yogi Adityanath being in the fray from Ayodhya will not only bolster the strong Hindutva narrative of the ruling party, it will also benefit it as the CM has paid over 30 visits to the temple town since taking over as UP CM.
“His candidature would also have a positive impact on over 80 seats falling in the adjoining districts of Faizabad, Ambedkarnagar, Gonda, Sultanpur Balrampur, Devipattan, Siddharthnagar, Bahraich, Barabanki, Basti, along with 10 odd districts including those falling in Gorakhpur and Varanasi divisions in the far east,” said a senior RSS functionary.
Besides drawing the attention of the core Hindu voters to Ayodhya where the construction of Ram temple is underway, its significance and multiple development schemes launched in the temple town for its makeover as ‘Navya Ayodhya’ during the last five years will help the party in mobilizing the voters in its favour in other regions as well.
Political pundits also believe that fielding Yogi Adityanath from Ayodhya would have a percolating effect till Uttarakhand in building a favorable atmosphere as the saints and seers of across the country have expressed their desire to field Yogi from the temple town.
Ved Prakash Gupta, the sitting BJP MLA from Ayodhya (Sadar) Assembly seat, is happy over CM’s candidature from Ayodhya. “It was a matter of pride for Ayodhya to have the chief minister Yogi as a candidate,” he says.
“The formal announcement of Yogiji’s candidature from Ayodhya is just a formality. His candidature will ensure the overall development of Ayodhya and its adjoining districts,” said Sharad Sharma, Ayodhya-based regional spokesperson, VHP.
There is a mood of celebration among the people, priests and saints of Ayodhya over the reports of the CM’s candidature.