LUCKNOW: Aware of the tough poll battle against the SP-RLD alliance in the Muslim and Jat dominated western Uttar Pradesh, the ruling BJP is now trying to portray the tie-up to work only until results are out.
The western UP districts will go to polls in the first two phases of the seven-phased UP polls.
Spearheading the BJP poll campaign, Union home minister Amit Shah claimed that the SP-RLD alliance was fragile and would only last till the counting of votes. “Although it’s clear that Akhilesh Yadav-led SP isn’t coming to power in UP, still if they somehow manages to form the government, while Azam Khan will be part of the cabinet, Jayant bhai (RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary) will be nowhere,” Shah said addressing BJP workers in Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur on Saturday.
“Yesterday, Akhilesh Yadav held a press conference with Jayant Chaudhary, where Jayant bhai was given due respect, but how long will it last? If SP forms government, Azam Khan and not Jayant Bhai will come first for Akhilesh Yadav. Not just Azam Khan, but even others including Atiq Ahmad, Imran Masood and Mukhtar Ansari will be considered first by Akhilesh. This is already appearing in the candidates list of the alliance,” Shah said.
Shah’s significant political message to the RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary of “being of use to Akhilesh Yadav only till counting of votes,” happened just a day after Chaudhary had turned down Amit Shah and BJP’s reported invite – about the saffron party’s doors being always open for the RLD. Refusing the invite, Chaudhary had said “the invitation should be given to those 700 farmers, whose houses/family was ruined during the farmers protest. This is nothing, but BJP tactics to isolate Jats.”
In both Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur district, which house major Muslim population, the former BJP president (who had undertaken similar poll tours in the same region in 2014 and 2019 LS polls and 2017 assembly polls) also raised on Saturday, the issue of 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.
“You all know that UP was ruled by the Akhilesh Yadav government when the riots happened in Muzaffarnagar. You are also well aware of what was done by that government. The perpetrators of the violence were treated as victims and the actual victims were put behind the bars by the then Akhilesh Yadav government just to pursue the politics of appeasement,” Shah said. On Saturday, Shah had to stop the door-to-door campaign midway in Deoband, owing to the huge crowd waiting to welcome and meet him, despite COVID-19 related restrictions.
Real shock will be in Gujarat, not UP: Akhilesh Yadav
Ghaziabad: The Uttar Pradesh elections will not throw a surprise result, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday exuding confidence of forming government in the state and claimed the “real surprise” will be in Gujarat assembly polls due later this year. He claimed the people of UP have already given their verdict and the BJP is “nervous”. Yadav was speaking at a press meet along with RLD chief Jayant Chaudhry, after taking the ‘anna sankalp’ of defeating the BJP. He said that the voters will teach a lesson to those honouring Mahatma Gandhi’s killers.
SP, BJP gave jungle raj to UP: Mayawati
BSP chief Mayawati on Saturday said that in the past 10 years, under the SP and the BJP, there has been “anarchy” and “jungle raj” in Uttar Pradesh, and cautioned people not to fall prey to any of their allurements. She also said her rivals have an “anti-people character and face, and do double talk”, and these have been again exposed before the elections. “They are not talking about good days by removing problems of livelihood, unemployment and inflation, but are seeking votes by talking about religion-caste discrimination and hate speech,” she tweeted.