PM makes impassioned plea to voters at final UP rally
VARANASI: In the final push, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to conceal the political dent in his own constituency by paying a visit to the Gadwaghat Ashram, former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s home at Ramnagar and Rohaniya Assembly segment on Monday.
At the final hour, BJP’S witty poll campaigning strategy led the saffron party into political speculations as all the three areas visited by Modi, the BJP is facing the wrath. Political observers feel that his visit to Gadwaghat Ashram is to woo the Yadavs. The Ashram on the banks of the Ganga is politically significant to the OBC caste as Samajwadi Party (SP) top brass are frequent visitors of this Ashram. SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, his younger brother Shivpal Yadav and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi visited here earlier.
According to the Ashram authority, during 2014 Lok Sabha elections PM Modi was willing to visit Gadwaghat Ashram but could not make time for it. While visiting, PM also met Mahant Sharananand and fed cows at Gowshala there to enliven the Hindu vote bank, poll pundits feel.
After visiting the Ashram, Modi paid a visit to the former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s home at Ramnagar. But while the saffron party pitches for “Congress hatao, Desh Bachao” slogan, visiting a congress stalwart’s house by any PM for the first time also created a political buzz. The poll pundits feel that Modi’s aim was to woo the strong vote bank of Congress there. Even more, Lal Bahadur Shastri is considered as the most humble Prime Minister of India.
In 2016, the incumbent SP government sanctioned the first installment of Rs. 35.74 lakh for restoration work at Shastri’s home as part of converting the structure into a museum. Interestingly, the house was locked for more than three months owing to the replacement of the security guards.
Later in the day, Modi ended his poll campaigning by addressing a public rally in ‘Kurmi’ populated Rohaniya Assembly segment for ally party Apna Dal (Sonelal) candidate Udaynarayan Singh Patel. Earlier during the seatsharing process, both parties were reportedly got into the spat over Soraon seat candidature. Later BJP president Amit Shah resolved the matter and withdrew BJP candidate.
Union Minister and prominent Kurmi face Anupriya Patel was the sitting MLA of Apna Dal, which is now headed by her mother Krishna Patel from the seat and later she went on to win from Mirzapur during Lok Sabha elections of 2014.