Mainpuri, UP:
Exuding confidence about the party’s performance in the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections held so far, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that BJP has already scored a century, while the Congress and Samajwadi Party haven’t even opened their accounts yet.
Further attacking the Samajwadi Party (SP), accusing it of ‘family-based politics’, Mr Shah asked why SP couldn’t find any other ‘Yadav’ candidate outside their family.
Addressing a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri on Sunday, Amit Shah said, “So far, voting for two phases has taken place, do you want to know the result? Modi ji has run past ahead with a century and the two princes (Rahul and Akhilesh) haven’t even opened their accounts yet. Keep this writing on wall, BJP is winning 80 out of 80 seats in UP.”
“This election is to help women, farmers and youth progress ahead in life and to make the country secure and prosperous. This election is between those who fired bullets on Karsevaks and those who made Ram Temple,” he added.
The Home Minister further asked the people of Mainpuri to “end” the family politics and make the ‘lotus bloom’ (phrase for BJP’s victory) in the constituency.
“Samajwadi Party, who claims to represent Yadavs. I want to tell you, that Mulayam Singh became the CM, then his son became the CM, and after his (Mulayam Singh Yadav) death, his daughter-in-law became the MP. This time, Akhilesh Yadav is contesting from Kannauj, Dimple Yadav from Mainpuri, Akshay Yadav from Firozabad, Aditya Yadav from Budaun and Dharmendra Yadav from Azamgarh,” Mr Shah said.
“I want to ask Akhilesh Yadav, don’t you find ‘Yadavs’ outside your family? They don’t belong to anyone. The time has come to finish these family-run parties and make lotus bloom in Mainpuri under PM Modi’s leadership,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Mr Shah addressed a public meeting in UP’s Etah. Taking jibe at Akhilesh Yadav, he said if things were under the SP chief’s control, he would have fielded his family members on all the seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Further, lashing out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks that the BJP will end the reservation system, the Home Minister said that the latter is spreading lies in the name of backward classes.
“Rahul Baba is spreading lies in the name of backward classes. He says that if the BJP wins 400 seats, it will remove reservations from the country. He doesn’t understand, that we had two full terms with an absolute majority to remove reservations, but Narendra Modi is a supporter of reservations. Today I will give you a Modi guarantee that the SC, ST, and OBC reservations will neither be removed by the BJP nor will we let anyone else do that,” Amit Shah said.
Mr Shah also recalled that it was Babu ji (Kalyan Singh) who took up the cause of the welfare of the backward classes and the poor but his government collapsed because of Mulayam Singh.
“But when Narendra Modi became PM, he left no stone unturned in the progress of the backward classes and the poor. Congress has always attacked the reservation of SC, ST and OBCs, but Modi ji has always worked for their upliftment,” the home minister said.
UP which sends the maximum 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, is undergoing polling across all seven phases. The counting of all seven phases of voting will be held on June 4.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the winner by securing the majority of seats available. Of 80 seats, the BJP won 62, followed by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with 10 seats, the Samajwadi Party (SP) with 5 seats, and the Apna Dal with 2 seats.