Rampur gears up for Yogi, Akhilesh rallies

BAREILLY:As campaigning for the October 21 assembly by-election enters the last lap, chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav have planned back-to-back rallies in Rampur to drum up support for their party candidates.

While Adityanath is scheduled to address public meetings in Rampur city on October 18, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav would canvass for party candidate Tazeen Fatima on October 19. Tazeen Fatima is the wife of Mohd Azam Khan, the SP MP from Rampur.

As the district administration on Thursday got down to making necessary arrangements for the visits of these two high-profile leaders, a war of words between the SP and the BJP leaders warmed up what has so far been a lacklustre campaign.

“Tomorrow (Friday), the UP CM is coming to address you. If he is really serious about the development of this constituency, let him announce a development package of at least Rs 2,500 crore,” said Azam Khan at a public meeting in Ajitpur, which is part of Rampur.

SENIOR LEADERS FROM BOTH SP AND BJP HAVE ALREADY REACHED RAMPUR AND HELD MEETINGS TO MOBILISE PARTY WORKERS

“More than half the tenure of this BJP government is over and not a single rupee of investment has come to Ajitpur. As a legislator, I invested approximately Rs 250 crore in this area alone. When a small-time MLA like me managed Rs 250 crore investment, then you (Yogi) must announce projects worth Rs 2,500 crore at least,” said Khan. The Samajwadi Party leader refuted charges of land-grabbing and other cases slapped on him in the last few months and termed them a conspiracy by the administration.

“He knows his game is up and the law is going to catch up with him soon. That is why he is so desperate and I am told (he) has cried at least three times from the dais. But all these histrionics and political rhetoric are not going to work,” said BJP nominee Bharat Bhushan Gupta.

Gupta said the CM had assured the people of Rampur that justice would be done to them and all those who had unleashed a reign of terror on the poor and farmers during the SP regime would be brought to book soon.

Ahead of the rallies, senior leaders from both the SP and the BJP have already reached Rampur to mobilise party workers.

“There would be restrictions on the movement of traffic not only within the city but also on the highways over the next two days because of the CM’s visit to the city and adjoining districts,” said Rampur district magistrate Ananjeya Kumar Singh.