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.
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Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Uttar Pradesh government for delay in recording statements of witnesses before a judicial magistrate in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, where eight persons were killed, and also told the state government to dispel the impression that it is dragging its feet in the matter.
In a statement, the minister termed the decision by the CBSE to include all regional languages in the minor subjects as a conspiracy to wean students away from their mother tongue.
Delhi government has always tried to release the compensation soon after the announcement and has done so in the past too, he said, adding that the compensation amount given by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)- led government is the highest in the country.
As per the information, Raj Kaur, a resident of Kassel, presently residing in Cheema Kalan in Tarn Taran district, had alleged that her brother Lakhbir Singh was allured by some persons and taken to Singhu where he was murdered by some Nihang Sikhs on October 15 for alleged sacrilege.
The issue was up for deliberation on Wednesday during the meeting between the party leaders and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Congress' Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat.
