With the ruling camp retaining power in UP with a clear mandate, state BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh tells Namita Bajpai that the victory belongs to the deprived and downtrodden sections of society.
How do you rate the victory?
I see this as a victory of the people of Uttar Pradesh. BJP earned it through extreme diligence of the leadership and, of course, workers who put in their blood and sweat to make this possible. We got immense love of people.
What went behind this?
We attribute this to the deprived and downtrodden sections of the society.
It is the victory of women power and ‘motherhood’ as the ‘other half’ of the population stood by us and supported us by breaking family barriers.
We got support from all sections. They showered their blessings on us acknowledging our work and commitment to provide them a better life.
The reason are a hard-working and committed CM in Yogi Adityanath, the guidance of PM Modi and clean and effective governance of five years during which we ensured the development of everyone irrespective of caste and community.
Your take on the strategy of Samajwadi Party which posed a tough challenge?
Samajwadi Party does politics of caste and community. It’s evident from the alliances they formed.
They drove defection in all major parties and inducted leaders to win their caste vote but the public has responded to them in true spirit.
Turncoats like Swami Prasad Maurya and Dharam Singh Saini have bitten the dust. It is time for SP to introspect.
They did not play the role of a constructive opposition in five years. They did not step out of the comfortable confines.
What message has UP given to the opposition?
People have rejected the politics of dynasty and convenience.
People have given a strong message to those who did the politics of Twitter from the comfort of their AC rooms and enjoying frequent vacations abroad.