“In the last 10 years, our government, through its work, has given a new lease of life to the aspirations of my family members across the country. To give further impetus to this, the countrymen have once again decided to go with BJP-NDA in the Lok Sabha elections. Will get the privilege of receiving blessings from the public at around 3.30 pm today in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh,” PM Modi wrote in a post on X.

The Prime Minister is slated to deliver a rally in Meerut as part of the campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP has put forward Arun Govil as their candidate from Meerut, notable for his portrayal of Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan during the 1980s.

The BJP is optimistic about its prospects in Western Uttar Pradesh, aiming to achieve its ambitious goal of securing 370 seats independently, despite setbacks in previous elections. In 2014, the BJP won 24 out of 27 seats in the region, but this number decreased to 19 in 2019, with all eight seats being claimed by the SP-BSP alliance.

In the 2019 elections, BJP candidate Rajendra Agarwal narrowly secured the Meerut seat by defeating the SP-backed BSP candidate Haji Yakub Qureshi by a slim margin of fewer than 5,000 votes.

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Interestingly, for the 2024 elections, BJP candidate Arun Govil will be contending against SP candidate Bhanu Pratap Singh and BSP candidate Devvrit Tyagi in Meerut.

With the political landscape evolving in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP is leading a formidable alliance, which includes parties like the RLD, SBSP, Apna Dal (S), and Nishad Party, thereby fortifying its position in the state.

The 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh are scheduled to take place in seven phases, spanning from April 19 to June 1.

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Phase 1 voting will occur on April 19, Phase 2 on April 26, Phase 3 on May 7, Phase 4 on May 13, Phase 5 on May 20, Phase 6 on May 25, and Phase 7 on June 1.

Vote counting is set to take place on June 4.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Published: 31 Mar 2024, 01:00 PM IST