At an election rally on Wednesday, Loni MLA Nand Kishor Gurjar urged chief minister Yogi Adityanath to rename Loni ‘Parshuram Nagar’.

The chief minister, whose March 31, 2019, speech in Ghaziabad is under the scanner of the Election Commission, however, did not say anything on the issue as it would have amounted to violation of the model code of conduct.

After coming to power, the current UP government has re-christened Mughalsarai to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar, Faizabad to Ayodhya and Allahabad to Prayagraj.

“It is a demand by residents that Loni be renamed as Parshuram Nagar. According to mythology, it was the character of Shatrughana in Ramayana who killed Lavanasura, a gigantic demon. This was done on the request of lord Parshurama. The Loni town was earlier called ‘Lavani’ after the demon. It later came to be known as Loni. Since it is now developed and criminal elements have fled from here, we want it renamed Parshuram Nagar,” the MLA said.

“Loni, that earlier used to be a safe haven for criminals, is now free of terror. During the rule of the BJP government, we established degree colleges, constructed major roads and also got the Delhi-Saharanpur Road, the construction of which was marred by a scam, developed. I would say that most people fled not from Kairana or Kandhla but from Loni during the previous regimes. The party workers took contracts for killings and instances of cow slaughter were common,” Gurjar told the gathering.

While spelling out the developmental works in Loni, the chief minister, however, steered clear of making any announcement of name change as the Election Model Code of Conduct is in force.

“Nand Kishor is our MLA and I had come to support him in 2017 assembly election. Then I had promised that if he becomes Loni’s MLA, development of the town will reach new heights. Both our MP and the MLA have worked hard for Loni’s development. Two years ago, this area was marred by chaos, crime, goonda tax, cow slaughter and celebration of festivals were subdued,” CM Adityanath said.

The Loni segment of the Ghaziabad parliamentary constituency has 49,1073 voters of a total of 27,26,132 voters as per the electoral rolls as on March 27, 2019. Loni, bordering Delhi on one side and Baghpat on the other, has a mixed population, with residential pockets dominated by Hindus as well as Muslims.

Loni has been a traditional stronghold of the Rashtriya Lok Dal since 2007, when it was a part of the Khekra assembly seat in Baghpat district. However, Loni became a separate assembly constituency in 2012. The Bahujan Samaj Party won the seat. In 2014, the seat was won by BJP candidate who secured 1,12,666 votes of 2,31,453 franchise exercised. The BJP candidate also won the assembly seat in 2017 election, when the BJP candidate secured 1,13,088 of a total of 2,74,473 polled.

First Published: Apr 04, 2019 16:52 IST