Akhilesh insecure, brought his father to campaign for him: PM
MODI EXPRESSED CONFIDENCE CONFIDENCE THAT THE RULING BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY (BJP) WILL WIN THE ELECTION IN UTTAR PRADESH
UNNAO: Taking a swipe at Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that Akhilesh is insecure about his own seat and so brought his father Mulayam Singh Yadav to campaign for him.
Modi targeted Akhilesh Yadav who was seen in a video purportedly pushing Mulayam Singh Yadav on the stage during a power struggle within the party before 2017 assembly elections.
“They are about to lose the seat that they (SP) were considering as the safest. It is getting out of their hands. You must have seen, the father (Mulayam S Yadav) who was pushed away from the stage, was humiliated and his party was captured, had to plead to save his son’s seat,” said Prime Minister Modi in Unnao, in an apparent reference to the Karhal seat from where Yadav is contesting in the family-stronghold of Mainpuri.
The Karhal seat with a majority of Muslim and Yadav voters is considered safe for the Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav as the communities have over the years favoured the SP in the caste-dominated politics of Uttar Pradesh.
Stating that Samajwadi Party is dreaming of winning the election, PM Modi said, “Even after getting defeated in the first two phases, whenever these people (Samajwadi Party leaders) sleep, they watch dreams of coming to power. They were defeated in 2017, they will be defeated in 2022. People in UP will bring Yogi back.”
Expressing confidence that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win the election, Modi said, “They (Samajwadi Party) have made such an image of UP that nothing can change here.
Yogi government has shown improvement in law and order. UP will bring back Yogi, who brought security, development and growth in the state”, said Prime Minister Modi in Unnao.
Batting for a second term for Yogi Adityanath as the next chief minister in the state, Prime Minister Modi said, “Today in UP there is only one echo everywhere‘2017 me haraya tha, 2022 me phir se harayenge, UP ke log keh rahe hain yogiji ko layenge” ( People of UP are saying that you will be defeated in 2022 as in 2017, and we will bring Yogiji again).
Speaking about the chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s ‘Don’t let UP, Bihar ke bhaiya enter Punjab’ remark, PM said, “A few days ago, the poor, Dalits and backward classes of Uttar Pradesh were abused by the Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi to get votes in the elections. But the Samajwadi Party here did not oppose him even once.”
Meanwhile, PM Modi received a grand welcome from the locals who thronged terraces, buildings and trees near his helipad to get a glimpse of the BJP leader.
Polling in 59 constituencies for the third phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections is underway. Subsequent phases are taking place on February 23, 27, and March 3 and 7.
The counting of votes will be done on March 10.