Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday targeted Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav over dynasty politics, asking whether the Opposition party could not find any ‘Yadav’ candidate from outside his family.
“The SP claims to represent Yadavs. I want to tell you, Mulayam Singhji became the CM, then his son became the CM, and after his [Mulayam Singh Yadav’s] death, his daughter-in-law became the MP. This time, Akhilesh ji is contesting from Kannauj, his wife Dimple Yadav from Mainpuri, Aditya Yadav from Budaun, Akshay Yadav from Firozabad, and Dharmendra Yadav from Azamgarh. My simple question to Akhilesh Ji, don’t you find other ‘Yadavs’ from outside your family,” Mr. Shah asked, addressing a gathering in Mainpuri in support of the BJP candidate Jaiveer Singh.
In Mainpuri, a traditional bastion of the SP, the BJP candidate Jaiveer Singh is contesting against sitting MP Dimple Yadav. The Mainpuri seat is onsidered a citadel of the SP, which has won every parliamentary election from there since 1996. SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav represented the high-profile seat four times. In the 2022 bypoll held after his death, Ms. Yadav, won the seat by over 2,88,000 votes.
‘Modi will return”
Mr. Shah hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, claiming that the BJP prioritised the State’s economic and social needs. “Modiji has always given priority to the economic and social development of Uttar Pradesh and the people of the State have always given him their love and blessings. The huge crowd present in the public meeting is proof that Modiji will return. The people of Uttar Pradesh have completely rejected hooliganism, crime and nepotism and have put their stamp on Modiji’s 10 years of development and the country’s upliftment. This huge crowd that came to the public meeting in Mainpuri is loudly declaring that all the 80 seats of U.P. are going to the BJP,” added the Home Minister.
Addressing another rally in Etah, Mr. Shah said “In this election, on one side there are people who shoot at the devotees of Lord Ram, and on the other side there are people who will build the Ram temple. You have to choose. The unprecedented love and support towards Modiji is amazing. This time, the BJP is winning every booth in U.P. and Modiji is going to become the Prime Minister for the third time.”
‘Goons fleeing U.P.’
Lauding the law-and-order situation in India’s most populous state under BJP rule, Mr. Shah said that anti-social elements and mafias had started fleeing U.P. after the BJP led government was formed in the State. “As soon as the SP government lost power, instead of innocent people, goons started fleeing U.P.,” said the Home Minister. Mr. Shah accused the opposition INDIA alliance for dividing the society on caste lines and offered a warning to voters. “They will try to divide you (voters) on the basis of caste, while Modiji will keep the country united,” he said.
The Home Minister added that, in the 10 years of BJP rule, every section of society has been benefitted with unprecedented works initiated for downtrodden sections. “In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, everyone needs to vote for the BJP. In the last 10-years under Modi ji, unprecedented work has been done for every section of the society from women to youth to farmers, Dalit and backward class. Voting for the BJP candidate means voting for Narendra Modi,” added Mr. Shah.
