UP Polls: BSP accuses BJP of seeking vote in name of 'Ram', SP in name of 'Jinnah'

Ahead of upcoming Assembly polls in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) spokesperson Sudhindra Bhadoria criticised the two opposition parties Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) for trying to play religion-based politics in the state.

Bhadoria said while speaking to ANI in New Delhi, "BJP is seeking vote in the name of 'Ram' in Uttar Pradesh and SP is seeking it in the name of 'Jinnah', but public will give vote based on work, not on religion."

He further added, "What works have they done? Both parties failed to maintain the law and order in the state. People want BSP to rule and that is why BSP will form the government in the upcoming assembly elections."

Elections for 403 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh are due early in 2022. During the last elections in 2017, BJP won 312 Assembly seats as the party secured a 39.67 percent vote share in the elections for 403-member Assembly. Samajwadi Party (SP) won 47 seats, BSP won 19 while Congress performed poorly as they could only manage to win only seven seats.

Yogi Adityanath to remain BJP's CM face for 2022 UP elections

Uttar Pradesh Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) president Swatantra Dev Singh said Yogi Adityanath will remain the main candidate for the post of CM in the state. His statement came a few days after UP Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said that the issue of the next CM was already 'settled.'

Dinesh Sharma said, "This is a settled issue as the BJP's central leadership has already made it clear that the party will contest the UP assembly elections under Yogi Adityanath Ji to return to power."

Recently, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that UP under CM Yogi reached new heights and said that the needs the BJP government again in power over the next five years. While speaking at a public meeting held in Siddharth Nagar, the Union Minister for Education and Skill Development had stated, "Under the leadership of CM Yogi, the state is scaling new heights. CM Yogi has changed the picture of Uttar Pradesh. In 2022, the state needs BJP government again."

(with ANI and PTI inputs)