Wind from west (UP), will clean away BJP, says SP chief in Sikandrabad rally

BJP district president Gajendra Mavi said whatever Yadav is saying is wrong and people of UP will show them (Opposition) whose side they are on

Calling the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) “the biggest liar in the universe”, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said the identity that the ruling saffron party has created for itself in the last 10 years is that of “loot and lies”.

Samajwadi chief was addressing a rally for INDIA [Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance] candidate and SP leader Dr Mahendra Nagar in Sikandrabad in Bulandshahr district. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

“Voter turnout trends in the first phase indicate that wind from the west (meaning western Uttar Pradesh) will clean away BJP from Uttar Pradesh and their first show has flopped. Not only that, people don’t even want to listen to their stories. Their image is painted with lies and theft….BJP is the party that lies the most,” Yadav said while addressing a rally for INDIA [Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance] candidate and SP leader Dr Mahendra Nagar in Sikandrabad in Bulandshahr district.

Eight out of 13 seats in western Uttar Pradesh -- Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit -- went to polls on Friday in phase one of elections.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) website, the eight seats recorded a turnout of about 57.96% around 7pm on Friday. The final tally will be known only by Saturday, said officials. In 2019, the average turnout in the eight seats was 66.54%.

Reacting to Yadav’s speech, BJP district president Gajendra Mavi said his party always puts the interest of the nation first. “Whatever Yadav is saying is wrong and people of UP will show them (Opposition) whose side they are on.”

Urging people to vote for Nagar, the SP chief said he was happy that his party had fielded a doctor to compete against another doctor (BJP’s Mahesh Sharma).

“Some people used to tell me that I used to lose in this area as I could not field a candidate who is a doctor for this particular seat. But I want to thank all my party members for preparing such a doctor who can heal generations to come,” Yadav said.

He urged the people to “not vote for such a person (Sharma) who has not been able to make their (public) lives better”.

To this Mavi replied,“The work done in GB Nagar by Dr Sharma is what people will consider when they vote and it will be a historic win I hope.”

The SP chief also took a potshot at BSP candidate Rajendra Solanki (hails from Rajput community) saying even his community is supporting the Samajwadi Party.

Solanki did not respond to calls and messages seeking his comment.

Yadav further said, “Even if major channels don’t air content about the electoral bond matter, all people who use mobile phones now know that the BJP is startled after the expose. When we speak of electoral bonds, BJP members get frightened.”

The electoral bonds, introduced by the Narendra Modi government in January 2018, was a scheme through which companies/individuals could fund political parties anonymously. In February this year, the Supreme Court ruled that the scheme was “unconstitutional”, and struck it down. The ECI later uploaded the details on its website, showing that the BJP, which got ₹8,251 crore, was the largest beneficiary.

On the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) recently forging an alliance with the BJP in these general elections, the SP chief said, “In this election if you put one vote for us, it will save the constitution and throw out two parties (BJP & RLD).”

The BJP’s alliance with RLD, which came after the conferring of Bharat Ratna on former Prime Minister late Chaudhary Charan Singh, is seen as a strategic step that may help will NDA seats in western Uttar Pradesh.