In Akhilesh's bastion, Amit Shah seeks vote in Modi's name; invokes Rama, Krishna

Shah also heaped praises of 'Maharaja Suheldev', who had fought the Muslim army of Mohammed Ghazni in a bid too woo the Rajbhar community

In an indication that his party was not banking only on Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to win the state in the forthcoming assembly polls in the state, Union Home Minister and former BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday sought votes in the name of prime minister Narendra Modi, crediting the latter with scrapping Article 370 and paving the way for construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya.

Addressing a public meeting at Azamgarh, the Lok Sabha constituency of Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav, about 300 kilometres from here, Shah also heaped praises of 'Maharaja Suheldev', who had fought the Muslim army of Mohammed Ghazni, in an apparent bid to woo the electorally influential 'Rajbhar' (an OBC) community, which could impact the results of around two dozen seats in the 'Poorvanchal' (eastern region).

The minister, who also laid the foundation of a university in the district, suggested to Adityanath that the varsity be named after 'Maharaja Suheldev', who, he said, had chased away the foreign invaders.

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"Pichle chunav mein Azamgarh se BJP ko ek bhi seat nahin mili thi....is baar ek-ek seat Modiji ki joli mein daal dijiye," (In the last assembly polls BJP had not won even a single seat in the district...this time, give all the seats to Modiji), Shah said.

He said that Azamgarh was identified as the "hub of terrorism" during the previous regimes but the regime of Adityanath had changed the perception about the district. "Azamgarh was known as the land where terrorists and mafia dons took refuge....it has changed now," he added.

"It was with your (people) support that Modiji was able to form a majority government at the centre," he said.

Shah also slammed Akhilesh for terming Mohammed Ali Jinnah as a freedom fighter. "This area has been freed from mosquitoes and mafia," he remarked in an apparent reference to the prevalence of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in the region and mafia don turned politician Mukhtar Ansari, who was currently in jail in connection with several criminal cases.

The 'Poorvanchal' region was crucial for BJP's success in the forthcoming assembly polls. In 2017 assembly elections, the BJP had won 115 of the total 156 seats in the region. It however had failed to open its account in Azamgarh. Besides, one of its allies, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), which had considerable influence over the 'Rajbhar' community, has allied with the SP this time.

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