The 2022 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh would be a one-on-one contest between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the BJP along the lines of the West Bengal polls, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday. She appealed to voters to beware of “vote-cutter koels” and ensure there was no division of anti-BJP votes.
Ms. Banerjee, addressing a press conference along with SP president Akhilesh Yadav, asked voters to ensure that “bhai Akhilesh” wins over 300 seats in the 403-Assembly. She explained to people the significance of defeating the BJP in U.P. at the national-level.
“If you want to save the country from the BJP, you must completely support the SP and Akhilesh. If the BJP goes from this State, it will go from the entire country,” she stated.
In Bengal too, the BJP tried to use money power to divide votes but the contest was “one is to one.” “U.P. will also be one-on-one,” she observed, raising the slogan “khela hoga” in support of Mr. Yadav’s anticipated triumph.
“The fight in U.P. is a fight for izzat [honour],” she said.
Though Ms. Banerjee did not take any names, she hinted at Congress general Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, and asked voters to not “waste your vote on koels (a bird known for its distinctive loud calls)” who descend upon U.P. close to elections from Delhi and Hyderabad. She said that if Yogi Adityanath is elected to power again, he would “eat up” the people politically and financially.
Bengal polls
Mr. Yadav referred to the Bengal polls and hailed Ms. Banerjee for defeating “communal forces” and setting an example by challenging and defeating the saffron party despite it deploying various tactics and its “full army” in Bengal. “Not just defeat the BJP in Bengal, your victory increased the honour of ‘nari shakti’,” he said.
The former Chief Minister asserted that all regional parties would work together to remove the BJP from Delhi. “The BJP will be reminded of its defeat in Bengal.”
Mr. Yadav also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the cancellation of his Bijnor rally due to bad weather. While Ms. Banerjee had arrived in Lucknow from West Bengal, “Dilliwale” could not come to U.P.. “The BJP’s clouds of crisis are getting darker. The weather is bad for the BJP. The BJP’s plane of lies will not land in U.P. this time,” he said.
On March 3, Ms. Banerjee is expected to campaign in Varanasi, which has a decent population of Bengalis.
