Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Choudhary joined the saffron brigade in 1991. He rose through the rank and file of the party and attained the reputation of a no-nonsense man.

A Jat from Moradabad, Choudhury served in the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet, and in 2022, was appointed as the President of the BJP’s state unit. Presently, he is a member of the state Legislative Council. Manoj Bhadra of The Statesman spoke to the soft-spoken leader about the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, and BJP’s prospects after the completion of four phases of the electoral exercise. Excerpts:

Q: How will the BJP fare in the 2024 general election? Is your party’s Abki baar, 400 paar slogan practical?

A: In the 2014 (Lok Sabha) polls, the BJP gave a crushing defeat to the Samajwadi Party (SP) and other political players in the state. This trend will continue this time and we will cross the magical 400 seats-mark. No one can stop the party from achieving this. In the country, there is a clear wave favouring the BJP, the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, will also surprise everyone by choosing the BJP. When it comes to Uttar Pradesh, people themselves are making the BJP win all the seats. This is all because of the public trust that the party has earned due to the work done by Modi ji and Yogi ji for the poor, youth, farmers, and women.

Q: The opposition INDIA bloc and its partners Samajwadi Party and the Congress are charging the BJP government with failure on several fronts, especially unemployment and inflation. How do you counter it?

A: Without any concrete evidence, big things are being claimed by the Opposition. But the Opposition is not going to gain anything because people will give them ‘zero’ seats.

Q: The SP recently asserted that the INDIA bloc will form the next government at the Centre. Your comment?

A: They are daydreaming. Forget government formation, they are not even united. How can the voters trust them when their alliance partners are already against each other? Those (SP) who do not have enough people to be appointed as polling agents are claiming to form the government. They (SP) talk about the western (UP) wave, but they do not know that there is only one wave from west to east and that is the ‘Modi wave’. Akhilesh is even losing Kannauj and Mainpuri.

Q: The Samajwadi Party has often raised the issue of alleged irregularities in electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the polling process. It has blamed the central dispensation for this mess.

A: SP is preparing the ground for its defeat and blaming the voting machines. In several constituencies where polling was held in the last four phases, SP leaders have raised noise about ‘faulty’ EVMs. I am sure they will call the EVMs of all 400 seats faulty on June 4, when the results will be out. SP will be defeated, it is BJP’s guarantee.

Q: The BJP after launching the poll campaign on development and national integrity issues suddenly switched to Hindu-Muslim, Sanatan dharma and minority reservation. Why this change?

A: We have never diverted from our issues and agenda. We have to raise these issues brought out in the manifesto of the Congress and other Opposition parties. We have to make the voters aware of the conspiracy being hatched by these (Opposition) parties to fool and insult the majority community. Terming BJP leaders’ statement as “communal” is unfortunate as the Opposition parties had themselves started the row by trying to highlight minority reservations. These are the people who insulted Sanatan. They want to take the country and UP to the old era, but the common man will not let it happen. Issues like Ram Temple, abrogation of Article 370, triple talaq, and CAA, among others, are raised by BJP leaders in their campaigning. We did not diverge from our issues and are committed to fulfilling what we promised.

Q: SP talks about the failures of the Yogi Adityanath government and its hollow promises. The Opposition party is also raking up threats to the Constitution and democracy if the NDA retains power. What are your comments?

A: Those who are known for riots, communal violence, and poor law and order, are today shocked to see the activeness of police. It is funny how those who encourage the copying mafia are worried about paper leaks. For them, development means the development of their house, but for us, development means the entire country, that is, why UP has become the state with the highest number of airports. This is the development model of a double-engine government.

Q: All political players are concerned about low voting percentages. How does the BJP assess this and what is it doing to bring more voters to the polling booths?

A: The party has already directed its rank and file to bring maximum voters to the booths. The BJP’s strength lies in the booth and we are proud that we are soldiers of the world’s largest political party and our booth is as strong as a fort. We have engaged ‘panna pramukhs’ and booth-level workers to contact each voter and request them to vote. The party’s polling agents have also been directed to give Modi’s guarantee letter to every member of the family and explain it to them. But due to heat wave conditions, there are some problems and we are looking into it. The Election Commission too is concerned with the fall of voting percentage and it has also taken several steps. The BJP had announced to add 370 votes more since last time at every booth.