Modi to carpet bomb eastern UP

In its battle to retain the 27 Lok Sabha seats in Eastern Uttar Pradesh which are set to go to polls in the last two phases of the general elections, the BJP plans to carpet bomb the region with its most potent electoral weapon: Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi, who addressed three election rallies at Azamgarh, Jaunpur and Prayagraj on Thursday, would be addressing half a dozen election meetings at several LS constituencies in the region in the next few days.

According to BJP sources here, Modi would be addressing rallies in support of union minister Manoj Sinha at Ghazipur on Saturday and in support of his party nominee at Deoria on Sunday.

The prime minister was also expected to hold election rallies at Kushinagar, Chandauli, Ballia and Ghosi LS constituencies, which would go to polls on May 19 in the last phase.

BJP national president Amit Shah and union minister Rajnath Singh would also be holding over a dozen election rallies in the region in the next few days.

Not to be outdone, the grand alliance leaders, including the SP president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati and Congress' star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi have also lined up election rallies and roadshows in the region.

Eastern UP is crucial to BJP's scheme of things, as the saffron party had won 26 seats in 2014 LS polls losing only the lone seat of Azamgarh to the Samajwadi Party (SP).

The caste equations in the region changed completely after SP and BSP joined hands. The region has a sizable strength of the Muslims, Yadavs and SCs, who form the backbone of the 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand-alliance)