BJP gearing up to fight Opposition unity in Uttar Pradesh; PM Modi, Amit Shah to visit state next month
With the Lok Sabha polls less than a year away, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has begun preparations to counter a united opposition in Uttar Pradesh where the party had won 72 of the 80 seats in 2014. According to a report in The Indian Express, the saffron party has scheduled visits by its bigwigs including Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the politically sensitive state next month where they will hold talks with the ground-level workers.
It said that PM Modi may visit his parliamentary constituency Varanasi on July 15. BJP leaders in Varanasi, the report said, were informed about the proposed visit of PM Modi by the state unit earlier this week. Modi had on Thursday visited Sant Kabir Nagar in the eastern Uttar Pradesh where he had hit out at the opposition parties.
The report added that BJP president Amit Shah will embark on a two-day visit to the state next week. On July 4, he will arrive in Mirzapur where he will hold a meeting with the grass-root level party workers. Local MP Anupriya Patel will also be part of the meeting. Anupriya Patel’s party Apna Dal is an ally of the BJP. She is also a minister in the Modi government. The Apna Dal has a strong base among Patels in some areas of the eastern Uttar Pradesh. Shah is expected to Varanasi on the same day. On July 5, he will visit Agra for a similar meeting.
“Amit Shah would be in Mirzapur on July 4 to hold a meeting with the ‘vistaraks’ of the party. He is also expected to visit Varanasi the same day. Though exact schedule of the Prime Minister has not come, he is expected to be in Varanasi on July 15,” Mahesh Srivastava, regional president of BJP Kashi Prant, said.
On Friday evening, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the PM’s constituency to hold a meeting with the organisation to discuss the preparations for upcoming meetings and visit of Shah and Modi.
Quoting a senior state party leader, the daily reported that there are no doubts that Uttar Pradesh is ‘clearly the focus’ of the BJP leadership. He said that in future, more and more senior leaders will be seen visiting the state frequently. “The idea is to keep the cadre alive and active with the party chief personally holding regional meetings.”
The leader added that it will not be a surprise if PM Modi visits the state at least at least once a month.
Meanwhile, there are reports that the party is contemplating organisational changes before the elections including shifting of general secretary (organisation) Sunil Bansal and also party in-charge of UP Om Mathur.
