2024 Lok Sabha polls: Modi rally blitz in west Uttar Pradesh from April 19

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public meetings are in great demand by the BJP-NDA candidates.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to propel the BJP’s 2024 Lok Sabha poll drive in western Uttar Pradesh with a campaign blitzkrieg comprising several rallies and road shows.

Having addressed three rallies in western Uttar Pradesh in Meerut, Saharanpur and Pilibhit, Modi, whose public meetings are in great demand by the BJP-NDA candidates, is set to address “at least four” more rallies and a roadshow over seven days beginning April 19 from Amroha, a constituency due for polls in the second phase on April 26. Amroha is among the 16 Lok Sabha seats that the BJP had lost in 2019.

“Each Modi rally has the capacity to influence results in not just that constituency but in adjoining regions, too, and that is why his rallies are planned in a way to maximise the reach,” a senior BJP leader said, adding that after Modi, rallies of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Union home minister Amit Shah and defence minister Rajnath Singh, too, are in great demand.

“It’s difficult to accommodate all for there is a demand for a Modi rally from all 80 Lok Sabha seats. But he has to look after the entire country and that’s why the attempt is to maximize the reach by arranging those rallies in a manner that benefits several candidates,” this BJP leader said.

The sitting Amroha BSP MP Kunwar Danish Ali, who had won the seat in 2019 when BSP-SP-RLD had teamed up against the BJP, is now contesting the polls as the Congress candidate.

The Congress has a pre-poll pact with the Samajwadi Party for 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Modi rally in Amroha to back its candidate Kanwar Singh Tanwar, who had won the seat in 2014, has its own meaning as the Congress has not won the seat since 1984.

The day after Modi’s election meeting, a joint rally of Rahul Gandhi-Akhilesh Yadav has also been planned in Amroha.

“The influence of the Modi rally could be assessed from the fact that after his rally, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati too are scheduled to address rallies to counter the Modi impact,” a local BJP leader said.

After Amroha, Modi is again expected be back with rallies for the Hathras and Aligarh Lok Sabha seats on April 22. The BJP had won both seats won in 2019 and they have a substantial Dalit and minority population. The BJP has changed its sitting MP Rajveer Singh Diler in Hathras, while in Aligarh, after much suspense it has retained its sitting MP Satish Gautam.

This is likely to be followed by a Modi rally for party candidates in Agra and the adjoining Fatehpur Sikri Lok Sabha seats on April 25.

Both Agra and Fatehpur Sikri are set for a three-cornered contest. Agra has a substantial population of Jatavs – the Dalit subcaste to which BSP chief Mayawati belongs. It is also referred to as the “Dalit capital” due to substantial presence of the community. Fatehpur Sikri has a substantial population of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

In Agra, BJP candidate SP Singh Baghel is a sitting MP and a Union minister of state in Modi 2.0. In Hathras, the sitting MP is Anoop Valmiki, a minister in Yogi 2.0.

Another Modi rally is expected for BJP candidates in Bareilly, Aonla and Shahjahanpur on April 25. This is set to be followed by a road show in Bareilly on April 26.

In Bareilly, the BJP has changed its formidable sitting OBC MP and former Union minister Santosh Gangwar, who had won eight times, including six consecutive terms.

Recently, Gangwar’s supporters had shouted slogans in front of U.P. BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary when he had visited the region after declaration of the candidate for the seat. Even after being denied the ticket, Santosh Gangwar has been regularly present for party meetings but the BJP, not wanting to take a chance, has also squeezed in a Modi road show here as well. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has also held a rally there.

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