New Delhi: The BJP wants the UP Assembly elections to start from Purvanchal, the eastern part of the state. It raised this demand to the Election Commission during a meeting, telling the poll panel not to start the poll schedule from western UP, as per the usual practice.
During the meeting of the EC team that went to Lucknow under the Chief Election Commissioner, the BJP delegation said that for the last several decades, both the Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha polls have been started from the western part of the state and the commission should change this tradition this time.
Several factors are said to be working behind the BJP’s demand. In the 2017 state elections, the BJP secured gains in every part of the state, but this time, the party is little worried due to the farm agitation and the attitude of the Jat community of the western UP. The poll tie-up between Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party and the Jayant Chaudhury-led Rashtriya Lok Dal has made things worse.
The party also feels that with the elections in western UP in the last phase, it will get more time to prepare. Due to the long election campaign in the state, the party will get the opportunity to woo the farmers and the Jat community and hopes to bring them back to the fold.
Another reason could be heavy voting in favour of the party in Purvanchal is bound to have effect on the voters of western UP as well and the BJP feels that in that case the farmers and the Jat community of western UP will get back to the fold.
The 2017, assembly elections were held in 7 phases. In the first phase, polling was held on February 11, 2017 in 73 seats in 15 districts of western Uttar Pradesh, while the last two phases were held in Purvanchal districts.
If the BJP’s appeal is accepted by the Election Commission, then this time the voters of Purvanchal will get the first chance to vote and western UP voters will have to wait till the last phase.
–IANS