As it happened: In poll-bound UP, Modi plays development card

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at a rally in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh on Monday. India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is holding a two-day national conclave in the town of Allahabad where it is expected to firm up campaign strategies for the 2017 elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at a rally in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh on Monday. India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is holding a two-day national conclave in the town of Allahabad where it is expected to firm up campaign strategies for the 2017 elections. Here are the highlights:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is garlanded by party leaders during the BJP’s national executive meet in Allahabad on Sunday. (PTI)

6:10pm

People have shown trust in the BJP in the recent elections.

6:15pm

Whatever (good) is happening in India is because of you, not because of Modi.

6:16pm

We have to take Uttar Pradesh forward on the road of development.

6:18pm

Modi gives references to Indian mythology, says it’s time for a ‘vikas ka yagna (loosely translated as development drive)’ in Uttar Pradesh. He says that needs ‘aahuti (sacrifice)’ of vices such as casteism, communalism.

6:20pm

Uttar Pradesh is facing problems due to nepotism, casteism, growing criminal activities, and a ‘vikas ‘yagna’ will remove these evils, Modi says, in an apparent dig at the state’s ruling Samajwadi Party.

6:22pm

We don’t want the youngsters to face the hardship their parents had to face.

6:23pm

There is only one solution to all the problems and that is development.

6:28pm

How can the youth of India get employment opportunities if development does not take place? Modi asks.

6:31pm

The PM says the ruling SP and the opposition BSP engage in a blame game, but they have never act against each other. He alleges that there seems to be an understanding between the two parties.

6:36pm

When Kalyan Singhji and Rajnath Singhji (previous BJP CMs) served Uttar Pradesh, the state saw development.

6:44pm

For the first time after independence, the most farmer-friendly crop insurance scheme was initiated by our government, says PM Modi.

6:47pm

Uttar Pradesh receives Rs 1 lakh crore from the Centre, don’t know if it reaches the people here

6:50pm

Modi chants ‘Bharat Mata ki Jaai’ as the huge crowd joins him. The PM concludes his speech, drawing curtains on the BJP conclave.

Battleground UP

The BJP is expected to hard-sell the good works of the Modi government at the Centre and the alleged failures of the Akhilesh Yadav government to return to power in Uttar Pradesh after a gap of 14 years.

It has decided that the weapons for its poll offensive for forthcoming elections in five states, including UP, will be: Good governance, development and employment generation.

The BJP fared exceptionally well in Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, winning 71 of the 80 seats in the politically crucial state.