No holds barred clash in western UP

Senior party leaders from the BJP, Congress and Samajwadi Party have been trading potshots in the battle for UP

The heat is on in western Uttar Pradesh, with political heavyweights descending on the region to bat for their respective clients. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister of Home Affairs Amir Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath are campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party candidates, Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party National President Akhilesh Yadav are on the ground for their alliance's candidates too.

Shah on Saturday visited to Mathura to campaign for Hema Malini, who is the two time MP from the area and is contesting on a BJP ticket for the third time. Shah addressed a public meeting with senior BJP leaders in attendance at an open ground on Chhatikara road in Vrindavan. "With your support, in the first phase itself, we will make the Congress and SP vanish from here. We will defeat them in the second phase too. We have to see Modi as the Prime Minister for the third time," Shah said in his public meeting.

Home minister Amit Shah campaigned for Hema Malini in Mathura

Prime Minister Modi, too, had addressed a public meeting in Meerut three weeks ago in support of Arun Govil, known for his portrayal of Lord Ram in the Ramayan teleserial of yore. On Friday, the Prime Minister also addressed rallies at Amroha, Hathras and Aligarh, preparing for the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections, slated for April 26.

On the other side are candidates like Kunwar Danish Ali, who earlier won the Amroha seat in 2019 on an SP ticket, and is now contesting as the Congress-SP candidate from Amroha. The BJP has fielded Devendra Nagpal against him. In his Aroha rally on Friday, Modi said, "Earlier, riots were common in Uttar Pradesh. Many people from western UP had to leave their homes and put them up for sale. Our daughters and sisters were not safe. Yogi has freed UP from such gangster. We can not vote them into power at any cost," he said.

Danish Ali, meanwhile, recalled the way he was targeted by BJP's MP Ramesh Bidhuri, who used several communal slurs against him while speaking in Parliament. "I was abused in Parliament. That is why PM Modi and UP Chief Minister want to defeat me. This is the first rally of Congress-SP in Amroha. And this shows how much Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav love Amroha," he said.

Yadav, meanwhile, responded to Modi's "do shehzadon ki film" remark by saying, "Their own film is not doing well. The first day was a complete flop. Nobody is interested in listening to their tired dialogues." Modi had on Friday made the remark referring to Gandhi and Yadav. Gandhi added, "PM Modi has turned over all ports and airport to Adani in the last ten years. They will keep you distracted and let all the money go to a select 20 to 25 people."