Shah in UP from Saturday, to pep up Yogi government

BJP president Amit Shah will pep up Yogi government during his three day tour of Uttar Pradesh that begins from Saturday. Shah is expected to push the state government to further improve law and order situation to win over perception that the BJP government was moving towards ending the jungle raj - a phrase the party had used extensively in assembly polls to target Samajwadi Party regime.

In fact, in his Thursday's speech in the UP assembly, chief minister Yogi Adityanath had stated that no riots have taken place since the BJP came to power and even incidents of crimes have come down.

On his landing in Lucknow in the morning, Shah will interact with party leaders drawn from the centre, its district units and different cells to take a feedback on the governance and implementation of various welfare schemes of the centre. The party chief will take a meeting of state ministers to enhance coordination for speedy delivery mechanism as the Yogi government's performance will be tested in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The UP visit is part of Shah's 110 days long country wide tour which he has been undertaking to consolidate and expand outreach in different states.

He will have lunch with representatives of deprived social backgrounds to send a message that the party cares of poor who voted in large numbers for the BJP in the assembly polls.

Shah has kept a separate meeting with NDA allies, including Apna Dal and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, for smooth running of coalition government given that partner Om Prakash Rajbhar had recently threatened to give his ministerial post after his wish of having bureaucrats of his choice in his native district was turned down. Adityanath had to intervene to sort out the differences with Rajbhar.

On Sunday, the BJP chief will examine a power point presentation by the party's core group on the issues that are confronting the regime, said the party in an official statement.  He will engage intellectuals and address a press conference as he has done during his earlier trips to states.