LUCKNOW As West Bengal bleeds amid widespread violence during the panchayat elections, the Yogi Adityanath model of governance in UP has become a hot topic of discussion in the country, claimed a government spokesman here on Monday.
“Comparisons are being drawn between West Bengal – which saw violence, booth capturing and loot of ballot boxes during panchayat polls – and Uttar Pradesh, where not even a minor incident of violence occurred on a single seat whether it was Lok Sabha elections in 2019, or the recently concluded municipal elections,” he pointed out.
He said chief minister Yogi Adityanath had left no stone unturned to see to it that gangsters faced legal punishment and were deterred from criminal actions, following vigorously the no-tolerance policy against crime and criminals.
In the three-tier panchayat elections in West Bengal, violence started early morning and continued throughout the day. Booths were captured, clashes took place at various places and ballot papers were looted. In just one day, over 20 people lost their lives and around 100 were injured during the elections.
UP is the most populous state of the country with 80 Lok Sabha and 403 assembly seats. In the recently concluded municipal polls, elections were held for 17 seats of mayor, 1,420 of corporators, 199 of municipal council president and 5,327 of members, as well as 544 of city panchayat presidents and 7,177 of members.
{{/usCountry}}UP is the most populous state of the country with 80 Lok Sabha and 403 assembly seats. In the recently concluded municipal polls, elections were held for 17 seats of mayor, 1,420 of corporators, 199 of municipal council president and 5,327 of members, as well as 544 of city panchayat presidents and 7,177 of members.
{{/usCountry}}“But not a single incident of even minor violence was heard of anywhere… elections were held peacefully and the credit goes to CM Yogi. Kumbh, GIS, G-20 meetings, construction of Ram temple and many festivals took place in UP without any violence,” the spokesman pointed out.
“Prior to 2017, the situation in UP was no better than West Bengal. However, after taking over as CM, Yogi Adityanath accorded top priority to establishing law and order and gave a free hand to policemen to deal with those playing with the law of land. There was a massive crackdown on criminals, mafias and gangsters across the state. Subsequently, they either fled from the state or surrendered to the police,” he added.