Free ration, vaccines focus of BJP’s UP campaign

The focus of the second day of meetings in Delhi between the BJP leadership and its MPs from Uttar Pradesh remained on ways to reach out to the public in the state that goes to the polls next year.

The saffron party is planning yatras, mahotsavs and other forms of campaigns to find out if the Yogi Adityanath government’s schemes are reaching people, and spread awareness about them. Most of these programmes are likely to begin after August 15 after the current Parliament session concludes on August 13. Sources said the focus on the initial campaigns would be on free ration distribution, free vaccination, and issues of farmers.

Sources in the BJP said apart from schemes of the central and the state governments, MPs from the state had also been tasked with countering the Opposition’s narrative about farmers’ issues and BJP governments’ Covid management.

The series of outreach initiatives would begin with an “Ashirwad Yatra” by the party’s newly inducted central Cabinet ministers from the state. They will travel to their constituencies, covering four to five parliamentary seats on the way to seek the “blessings” of both party workers and the public.

“Due to the Opposition’s pandemonium in Parliament, the newly inducted ministers could not be introduced. Since the blessings of the workers and the people are what matter, soon the party will finalise a detailed route for each of these Ministers from the state that will include four to five Lok Sabha constituencies,” said an MP who was at the meet. The parliamentarian said the route would be finalised in the next few days.