BJP ministers storm UP to connect with electorate

In an apparent bid to connect to the electorate ahead of next year’s assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, BJP ministers virtually stormed the state during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Man ki Baat’ on the radio on Sunday.

As many as 14 union ministers and national BJP president Amit Shah were present in different parts of the state. They listened to the radio broadcast with the people and also addressed public meetings on the occasion.

Union Minister for Human Resource Development Smriti Irani, who was in Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, distributed radio sets among the people and also announced welfare projects for the electorate.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh flagged off a ‘Dhamma Chakra Yatra’ in Varanasi and vowed to build the tallest statue of Lord Buddha at Kushinagar, where the latter had died.

Election bugle
BJP chief Amit Shah, who was in Ghaziabad, virtually sounded the election bugle and said that the state would develop at a faster pace if BJP came to power after 2017 Assembly elections.

Shah, while addressing a public meeting, also listed the works done by the Narendra Modi government during its tenure so far.

He said that the party had fixed a target of winning 265 plus seats in Uttar Pradesh
 in next year’s assembly elections.

The NDA ministers slammed the Akhilesh Yadav regime in UP saying that the law and order situation in the state had worsened during his tenure.

There, however, were reports that at some places the union ministers were found to less enthusiastic.

Union minister of state Sanjiv Baliyan was seen taking rest at a guest house at Vrindavan during the 'Man ki Baat' broadcast.

UP BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya was seen dozing at the stage, which he shared with Shah at Ghaziabad.

Another union minister Ram Shankar Katheria left midway the boradcast while another minister Uma Bharti did not turn up at the venue in Jhansi, according to the reports.