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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a political rally in Meerut on March 31, kicking off the Bhartiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Lok Sabha election campaign in Uttar Pradesh.
The rally, at the Potato Research Institute ground, is the first occasion since 2014 when PM Modi will share stage with BJP ally and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will also be present on the stage.
The Bharat Ratna Factor
Jayant received the Bharat Ratna for his grandfather and former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh from President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on March 30.
Earlier with INDIA bloc, the RLD switched sides and joined BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in February this year after PM Modi announced the Bharat Ratnas.
Follow INDIA Bloc Maharally LIVE Updates Here
Sources said that the BJP has chosen Meerut for PM Modi’s rally as part of a strategy. Meerut has a sizeable population of Jats and Gurjars. The BJP is trying to woo both the communities, more so after the BJP-RLD alliance. The RLD has presence among Jat voters in the west UP region. The BJP has allotted two seats—Bijnor and Baghpat—to the RLD.
In 2019 elections, PM Modi kicked off his Uttar Pradesh poll campaign from Meerut. The BJP has fielded actor-turned politician Arun Govil from Meerut Lok Sabha seat. Govil played Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s popular TV serial Ramayan. BJP leader Rajendra Agarwal had won the Meerut seat three times in 2009, 2014 and 2019.
‘Gateway of West UP’
Meerut is considered the gateway of Western Uttar Pradesh. The state, in general, and seats in its western part, in particular, are crucial for the 370 seats target for the BJP and 400 seats target for the NDA.
Uttar Pradesh sends 80 seats, highest in the country, to Lok Sabha. In 2014 parliamentary elections, the BJP won 71 seats from UP and in 2019 the party won 62 of the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Also Read : ‘Nothing but Parivar Bachao andolan’: BJP leader on INDIA bloc’s Maharally
In 2014, the BJP won 24 out of 27 seats in the western Uttar Pradesh region. In 2019, the number reduced to 19. The remaining eight seats were won by the Samajwadi Party- Bahujan Samaj Party alliance.
Meerut and Beyond
Clearly, through PM Modi’s Meerut rally, the BJP would want to connect with adjoining parliamentary seats including Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Kairana, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur, Nagina, Baghpat and Pilibht. These regions will vote in first two phases of the seven-phase Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
Prime Minister Modi’s Meerut rally is scheduled on a day when Opposition INDIA bloc is holding a ‘Loktantra Bachao’ Maharally in the national capital to protest vindictive misuse of central agencies Union government.
Also Read : Rahul Gandhi takes ‘match fixing’ jibe at PM Modi during INDIA bloc rally: ‘IPL going on these days…’
Voting in Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Kairana, Bijnor, Nageena, Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit seats will be held in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 19.
Polling in Meerut, Baghpat, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar will be held in the second phase on April 26.
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Published: 31 Mar 2024, 03:46 PM IST
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