Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a virtual rally in Western Uttar Pradesh called upon people to vote chief minister Yogi Adityanath back to power for ensuring continuity in development works and keeping criminals at bay.

Prime Minister Modi who addressed the gathering simultaneously in Meerut, Gaziabad, Aligarh, Hapur and Noida, all falling in Western UP, via video conferencing however slammed rival Samajwadi Party terming it ‘fake socialists’, accusing the party of backing criminal and rioteers in the state.

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“Uttar Pradesh has been witness to many elections since Independence. It has seen the governments come and go. But these elections are unique as these are for establishment of peace, for continuation of development, for good governance and rapid development of the people of the state,” the Prime Minister said. He urged people to thwart rioteers’ designs to prevent the Yogi government from coming back to power. “Such people should not be allowed to succeed,” he warned.

Modi said people of the state had already made up their mind to stop mafias and rioteers from capturing power in the state. He said the previous governments which gave a free hand to rioteers and criminals had brought the maximum harm to the daughters and sisters in the state.”BJP will not allow criminals and rioteers to return to power in UP,” Modi said.

About the Union Budget 2022-23, Prime Minister Modi said it was full of possibilities for farmers. He said the Yogi government had cleared all dues for sugarcane. “They have set up new sugar mills. UP is making ethanol. UP farmers are saying they could see the difference,” he said. He also slammed the opposition parties for spreading rumours that MSP would be done away with. He said just like rumours about vaccines, this year farmers across the country would get crores of rupees as MSP. He said 100 per cent of the population in UP have got the first vaccine and 70 per cent have got both doses of vaccine.

Targeting the Samajwadi Party, Narendra Modi said they are socialist only on paper. He termed the SP a dynastic party. He recalled the contributions made by Chaudhary Charan Singh, Raja Mahendra Pratap and Major Dhyan Chand calling them great sons of the soil.

In the wake of the farmers’ protest, BJP poll strategists, who feel Western UP can add to BJP’s prospects or weaken it, are treading cautiously in the region. In the 2017 assembly poll the party had captured 83 out of the total 108 seats in the region. With the region all set to go to polls in the first two phases of the seven phase polls the party is keeping its fingers crossed for the time being.