From key centre of ‘Kshatriya discontent’, Yogi talks of Ram and development

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath during a public meeting for the Lok Sabha elections 2024, in Meerut on Thursday.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday campaigned in the Rajput-dominated Sisauli village of Meerut where he talked about how the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi had restored India’s “lost pride” and sought votes for actor and party candidate Arun Govil, whose portrayal of the role of Lord Ram in the superhit television serial Ramayana in the 1980s had made him a household name.

This was Yogi’s third campaign in Meerut and the choice of the village for the rally on Thursday evoked considerable interest as it is the same place where a Rajput Mahapanchayat was convened on April 11 where a decision was taken to boycott the forthcoming polls.

Adityanath’s rallies usually draw impressive crowd, and this one was no exception. The rally venue was seen as a BJP attempt to use Adityanath’s popularity to connect with the people, including a section of Rajput and Tyagi communities, who have been flagging issues of concern.

Adityanath deftly used religious symbolism to get the crowd going as he narrated the line of a popular song, “Jo Ram ko laye hain ..” and got an encouraging response from the crowd which responded enthusiastically by unanimously singing the other line … “hum unko layengey”.

This song has become very popular and is now also being played in party campaigns and seen in context with the Ayodhya Ram temple inauguration of January 22, it means, “ones who have accorded respect in Ayodhya for Ram will be voted to power again.”

Read Here: In Satha-Chaurasi belt, Adityanath talks of ‘Pakistan’, ‘surya tilak’ to woo voters

Adityanath also referred in detail to how Ram temple came up in Ayodhya only after a BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stewardship came to power.

“When Arun Govilji was essaying the role of Lord Ram in the Ramayana serial, he would have not known that one day Ram Navami (Lord Ram’s birthday) would be celebrated in the magnificent Ram temple that has come up in Ayodhya and is attracting devotees from across the globe,” he said.

“Arun Govilji’s arrival to Meerut as BJP candidate has coincided with Lord Ram’s return to his birthplace,” he said as the crowd applauded.

Govil also played to the script as he referred to his wife’s caste, Rajput, and how he placates her when she gets angry.

“My wife is also from a Rajput family from Aligarh. As and when she turns into a angry ‘Thakurain’, I placate her. Just like that you too need to convince all others too,” Govil said. The ‘angry wife’ symbolism and how he placates her had his own meaning on the eve of the first phase polls and days before the second phase polls in which Meerut would also vote on April 26.

Adityanath also referred to how on April 17, the first Ram Navami since Ram temple inauguration, the sun rays did ‘surya tilak’ on the forehead of Ram Lalla’s idol – made possible through an elaborate mechanism involving mirrors and lenses under the supervision of scientists.

Adityanath also reminded the people about Govil’s star status and said if he became the Meerut MP, he would become Meerut’s brand ambassador and help in taking the city on the path of development.

In his other rallies in Bulandshahr and Ghaziabad, Adityanath also reminded the people about how under the BJP, the state has progressed from following a “danga (riot)” policy followed by “previous non-BJP governments” to one that favoured “vikas (development).”

He also spoke of how under the BJP government Asia’s largest Jewar airport was set to become a reality and how it will usher in growth in the region.

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