Challenge Akhilesh to Show Photo of Him at Kashi Darshan, Janmashtami as CM: BJP Gen Secy Arun Singh

Varanasi has been an important pit-stop in the BJP’s road to power in Uttar Pradesh. Varanasi district comprises eight Assembly constituencies — Ajagara, Pindra, Sevapuri, Shivpur, Varanasi North, Varanasi South, Varanasi Cantt and Rohaniya — all of which were won by the BJP and its then ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) in 2017.

This time around, the SBSP has severed ties with the BJP, but the latter believes that Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s recent appeal that every household must be reached out to could recreate the success of 2017 for the saffron party.

As the BJP top brass starts arriving in Varanasi this week, News18.com spoke to the party’s national general secretary Arun Singh who said that while the party made promises in 2o17, this time it was campaigning based on the fulfilment of those promises.

Edited excerpts:

How is this election different from 2017? Are there challenges or is it going to be a good election for the party?

In the last elections, we were making promises but in these elections, we have already delivered on those promises. A lot of work has been done for the poor, farmers and other sections of the society. We are campaigning on the basis of the work done. There is a significant difference in Uttar Pradesh. The people are with Modi and Yogi. We will win more than 300 seats this time.

Akhilesh Yadav recently praised Swami Prasad Maurya and said that had he come to them in 2017 and made a pitch about CM Yogi Adityanath being ‘anti- Dalit’.

Akhilesh Yadav speaks like an immature person. He doesn’t sound serious at all. He is always trying to bank on caste divisions. We have given food grains, salt, oil to 15 crore people. We did not discriminate. For us, there is only one caste, that is poor or farmers. If the money is transferred to bank accounts of farmers, the only criteria was that they should be farmers. We did not ask anyone’s caste. Similar is the case with Jan Dhan account.

I want to ask what did he do in five years. He was given full mandate (in 2012). Only mafia raj persisted. People were living in fear. He is not getting even a single extra seat compared to previous polls.

Akhilesh Yadav went to Ayodhya but not to the Ram Temple. He is saying that he will go to the temple with family once it is completed.

He should say who ordered the firing on Ram bhakts. Samajwadi Party ordered the shooting, whereas the Congress wanted date after date to prevent the Ram Temple from being constructed. They were never in favour of the temple. I want to challenge them.

In his five years as CM, if he could show even a single picture of him having vermillion on his head or doing darshan in the Kashi temple. Or for that matter any picture or proof of him participating in Janmashtami programs in Mathura and Vrindavan or celebrating Deepostsav in Ayodhya. He was afraid of losing Muslims as a vote bank. He kept appeasing Muslims. Yogi, on the other hand, did all that Akhilesh couldn’t.

Was Muslim vote bank in the mind of Dimple Yadav when she talked about ‘colour of the rust’ and compared it with saffron colour?

Dimple Yadav doesn’t understand anything. Fire, saints, sacrifice, clothes worn by Swami Vivekanand were also bhagwa and light of the sun is also saffron. Had she known anything of the colour, she wouldn’t have made the statement. These are the people who have lost their ground.

The top leadership is coming to Varanasi and camping here?

The cadre feel enthused when PM campaigns. Modi ji is everything here. The PM is very popular.

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