Lok Sabha elections 2019: PM Modi to address at least 20 rallies in battleground UP

The BJP swept to power at the Centre in 2014 on the back of its performance in its western and northern Indian states like Uttar Pradesh, where it won 71 seats.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning at least 20 rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Uttar Pradesh, according to people aware of the party’s strategy in the country most populous state.

Prime minister Narendra Modi will begin his campaign in the state with a rally in Meerut on Thursday.(REUTERS FILE PHOTO)

Modi would begin his campaign in the state with a rally in Meerut on Thursday. He is the party’s most sought after campaigner in the state, which has the most seats – 80 – in Lok Sabha.

The BJP swept to power at the Centre in 2014 on the back of its performance in its western and northern Indian states like Uttar Pradesh, where it won 71 seats. A united Opposition later wrested three seats in bypolls from the BJP, prompting the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to forge an alliance for the 2019 national polls that begin on April 11. The BJP’s 40% vote share in 2017 state polls was less than that of the BSP and SP’s 44%.

“There will be over 20 big [Modi] rallies along with road shows. The number of these rallies is still being finalised, but we would try to maximise the impact of his rallies by holding them strategically,” said a BJP leader on condition of anonymity. He added the number of the rallies could go up.

Voting in Uttar Pradesh will be held over seven phases from April 11 to May 19.

Modi has held rallies in Gandhi family pocket boroughs of Rae Bareli and Amethi in the run-up to the polls. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and his mother, Sonia Gandhi, represent the two seats in Parliament. The SP and BSP have left Rae Bareli and Amethi seats for the Congress even as the party is contesting the polls in Uttar Pradesh on its own.

The second round of Modi rallies in these Congress bastions cannot be ruled out, according to BJP leaders. Modi rallies are also expected in Azamgarh, where SP chief Akhilesh Yadav announced his candidature on Monday and Rampur. The SP has fielded former Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan from Rampur.

“We will win 75 seats [in Uttar Pradesh] this time with Amethi and Azamgarh being the two additional seats,” said BJP leader Vijay Bahadur Pathak.

The BJP also plans road shows in Modi’s constituency of Varanasi and in some other key constituencies. “A rally helps build the atmosphere but people get to see their leaders from a closer range at road shows. That is why in Eastern UP and some other regions, he [Modi] might possibly be holding road shows too,” said another BJP leader.

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, his deputy, Keshav Prasad Maurya, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, and Nitin Gadkari along with BJP chief Amit Shah are also going to be among key campaigners in Uttar Pradesh, according to the party leaders.

Modi is expected to again campaign in Western UP around April 5 with a rally in Amroha. A BJP leader said the Opposition alliance was also planning rallies in the region coinciding with Modi’s campaigning.

The SP-BSP alliance has planned 11 joint rallies featuring Akhilesh Yadav, BSP chief Mayawati and Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh.

SP spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi said PM’s rallies will have no bearing on the their prospects. “Modi magic has waned completely. In the MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka state polls the BJP lost maximum seats in the areas where Modi held rallies.”