Yogi admits SP-BSP tie-up was a challenge, praises Shah hard work
LUCKNOW: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath conceded on Tuesday that the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in which opposition Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party had teamed up posed a “bhari chunauti” (a big challenge) for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
He said the BJP, however, triumphed due to party chief Amit Shah’s astute planning and confidence.
During the launch of a book – ‘Amit Shah and the march of BJP’ – published by Bloomsbury, Adityanath admitted that win in 3 Lok Sabha by-polls in which the SP-BSP-RLD successfully tested their alliance had rightfully given wings to opposition hopes of together taking on BJP in 2019 in key battleground state of UP.
“I went to meet Amit Shahji and shared my concern (over the alliance in UP) with him. He told me that we will triumph as there was no substitute for hardwork and that we should all get going in the right earnest,” Adityanath reminisced.
“I remember Amit Shahji telling me that even if all of opposition, including those that were left out, were to come together the BJP would still win more than 70 plus seats in UP,” he recalled quoting Shah who he disclosed was inspired by four iconic personalities– Adi Shankaracharya, Chanakya, Vir Savarkar and Narendra Modi.
“True to his words, the party chief led by example, displaying extraordinary stamina and spirit. After campaigning for the party across the country, he would land in Uttar Pradesh and begin his meetings which would run well past midnight. This was the kind of hardwork that he put in, the results of which were there for all to see,” Adityanath said.
Adityanath also shared his experience at a Dalit household in Ayodhya.
“In Ayodhya, a Dalit once invited me over to his place. He welcomed me warmly and said he owed his house to us. As I looked at him he said the party for whom I voted never gave me any house but it’s the BJP government under which I was automatically
selected on eligibility. He also showed me his free cooking gas kit, the power connection under Saubhagya scheme. It’s in him that I saw proof of the success of the various welfare schemes,” Adityanath said.
“Another key aspect was the use of the technology by the team under the leadership of Amit Shahji. Today, we can verify data that our district chief sends us and this has helped us immensely,” he said.
Yogi also cited swacch bharat missions that have helped drastically reduce encephalitis deaths in east UP, free toilets, declaration of international yoga day and the recent change in trade policy to ensure country gains investment that China loses as a result of the trade war between China and US as proof of the visionary leadership provided by Modi.