LED raths, door-to-door campaigns: BJP's plan for UP elections
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh will begin a door-to-door campaign across the state from Tuesday. The campaign focus on the BJP's accomplishments in the state, headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is facing opposition from several other parties. The BJP, which won the polls in 2017, is the ruling party of Uttar Pradesh.
Why does it matter?
- The development comes just a few weeks before the highly-tensed Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections which are due to begin on February 10.
- While the BJP is attempting to reclaim power under Adityanath's leadership, the primary challengers are Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
- The BJP had dethroned the SP in the 2017 elections, winning 312 out of 403 seats.
How will the door-to-door campaign be conducted?
The BJP will begin a door-to-door campaign on Tuesday after the party's flagship Jan Vishwas Yatras, BJP's UP-unit chief Swatantra Dev Singh said. Around 3.50 crore beneficiaries of government schemes in the state would be part of the target audience. The party plans to contact every household in the state's 92,821 polling centers, which include 1,74,351 polling booths.
BJP's campaign gets further push
To amplify its message, the BJP will launch "LED raths (chariots)" with giant screens after Makar Sankranti on January 14. These raths will reach Uttar Pradesh's 403 assembly seats and highlight the government's social welfare programs and improvements in the state's law and order, said Singh. "All MPs, MLAs, ministers, public representatives, and party officials will be a part of this campaign," he said.
UP elections to be held in 7 phases
According to the Election Commission of India, elections for 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases. The election will commence on February 10 and end on March 7. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are among the party's popular campaigners. However, Yadav remained confident that his SP would win 400 seats.
