Narendra Modi will be BJP mascot for UP electoral battle

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be key to BJP's campaign for the high-stakes electoral battle in Uttar Pradesh, slated for early next year, for which the party will highlight central schemes in place for the farmers, poor and the downtrodden.

BJP members said the party had planned big rallies to be addressed by Modi across the state. They said the campaign would focus on the Modi government's achievements, particularly its "pro-poor" policies.

"There is a need to communicate to people about the schemes that are in place to benefit them," said a party leader form UP.

Plans are also afoot to launch four simultaneous yatras from different places in the state and dates for the same are being finalized. The four yatras will start from Saharanpur, Lalitpur, Balia and Sonebhadra.

The party has divided the state into six regions organisationally and the choice of venues -- Saharanpur (western UP), Lalitpur (Kanpur region), Balia (Gorakhpur region) and Sonebhadra (Kashi region) -- follows a carefully crafted strategy. Each of the yatras will cover at least two regions, thus covering the entire state. The yatras are set to culminate in Lucknow.

Modi is likely to address the Lucknow rally when the four yatras converge in the state capital. The yatras, covering 100 days each, are expected to counter the Congress yatra, currently led by Rahul Gandhi.

While there are plans to have Modi address at least one rally each month to create a buzz in favour of the party even before the poll dates are announced, the number of rallies where the PM will be present could go up, according to party sources.

BJP chief Amit Shah and home minister Rajnath Singh will be the other two top party functionaries who would lead the campaign.