Page 25 - 30APR2019E

general elections 2019

Parties in UP try hard to woo

voters after low turnout in Phase 1

Political temperature in Uttar Pradesh is gradually running high with all the major stakeholders
in national polity being busy securing their future from the state that accounts for
largest number of seats in Lok Sabha, reports mudit mathur

riyanka Gandhi’s Road show test with BJP and BSP nominees. In percent, which suggests that this time it
in Bijnor district of Uttar this phase, UP will witness polling in was not a retaliatory polling despite best
Pradesh faced frontal con- Mathura, where film star Hema Malini efforts of political leaders by delivering
frontation with hooting slo- is contesting again on the BJP ticket. provocative speeches. In this phase, the
P gans chanting “Modi-Modi” Agra, Hatras, Bulanshahr, and Nagina fate of union ministers and former Army
by BJP supporters but Gandhi scion are reserved constituencies for sched- chief Gen VK Singh and Union Minister
displayed unusual calm and patience uled castes and Congress has pitched Mahesh Sharma have hung in balance.
by just smiling and showering flowers Prita Harit, Triloki Ram Diyankar, Ban- The electioneering in the first phase of
and garlands on them. The spontane- silal Pahadiya and Omwati Devi Jatav elections has taken much hype after big
ous reactionary gesture of “Gandhigiri” are trying their luck on Congress ticket rally of prime minister Modi in Meerut. In
stunned and silenced them. Such ap- and Priyanka Rahul have planned to this phase eight constituencies — Saha-
proach to handle agitated masses were address public meetings in all these ranpur, Meerut, Kairana, Muzzafarnagar,
reminiscence of Indira Gandhi era when areas to regain its support base that was Bijnor, Bagpat, Ghaziabad and Gautam
she pacified the agitated students of JNU eroded with the rise of BSP. Massive Road Buddha Nagar (NOIDA) by and large
who had shown her black flag and raised shows are planned in the areas from 15th peaceful polling concluded on 11th April,
slogans before her to “go back” but after a April in this belt. In Agra Prita Harit is 2019. In this Jat-dominated area the pres-
function was over she went to students posing tough battle for sitting BJP min- tige of Union ministers Mahesh Sharma
and solved their problems then and ister SP Singh Baghel, who entered into and Satpal Singh, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief
there. the saffron politics just on the eve of 2017 Ajit Singh and his son Jayant, Congress
Now her campaign entered into assembly elections. leader Imran Masood, Harendra Agrawal
second phase of electioneering where The first phase of polling witnessed and former minister Naseemuddin Sid-
in Fathepur Sikri her party’s stalwarts very low turnout of voters as compared diqui is at stake. Rahul-Priyanka, Modi-
Raj Babbar is pitted in a triangular con- to 2014 elections and just recorded 63.69 Yogi and Akhilesh-Mayawati all the play-

Tehelka / 30 april 2019 25 www.Tehelka.com