BJP builds on free grains, ‘suraksha’

Prayagraj: As the Uttar Pradesh poll journey chugs along eastward, some catchwords among the voters are a constant: ‘suraksha’ (security), ‘sukoon’ (peace) and ‘muft anaaj’ (free grains).

And then there is counter talk of ‘berozgari’ (unemployment) and ‘bhedbhaav’ (discrimination) even in action against goons.

In Prayagraj East, Anil Sonkar, who is 50 and drives an e-rickshaw, bares a conflict that mirrors the hearts of a sizeable section of voters.

“I thought my son could get a job and do better than me. A graduate he may be but he says decent jobs are difficult to find,” he says reflectively. He then points to the halfrazed office of jailed gangster Atique Ahmed, a multi-term former MLA and also an exMP, and says, “Yogi (Adityanath) has made things safe. I can at least ply my rickshaw without facing any goon.”

For the first time in over three decades, neither Ahmed nor any of his family members are contesting elections this time. Not very far off is Binod Kumar Kesarwani, a voter in Prayagraj North, selling clothes by the roadside and lamenting that business has been down for quite some time.

But he is surer of his political affiliation. “Will Samajwadi Party improve the economy? There is sukoon now. Bhajpa should get one more chance,” he says. Spearheaded by its president Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party has been building its campaign against the BJP over issues like unemployment, stray cattle menace in rural areas and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s alleged high handedness and has tried to stitch together a caste coalition by giving representation to various communities to take on the ruling party.

Many of the issues have found a certain resonance with different sections of society outside its core support of Muslims and Yadavs but the BJP’s narrative centred around development. – PTI