Rajnath Singh, Kalraj Mishra, Uma Bharti & Keshav Prasad Maurya to be faces of parivartan yatras

NEW DELHI: Undecided over the issue of projecting a chief ministerial candidate, BJP has picked four leaders – Rajnath Singh, Kalraj Mishra, Uma Bharti and Keshav Prasad Maurya – as its faces for the four Parivartan Yatra vehicles slated to begin crisscrossing the state from four different corners within a week now.

These faces are in addition to the faces of PM Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah together adorning BJP automobile chariots, first of which will hit road on Saturday (November 5) from Saharanpur.

While Rajnath Singh and Kalraj Mishra hail from Thakur and Brahmin communities respectively, Lok Sabha MP from Jhansi Uma Bharti and state president Keshav Maurya belong to backward castes Lodh-Rajput and Koeri communities. Incidentally, there will be no Dalit face on the chariots.

This limited number of faces on BJP’s automobile chariots in UP is in contrast to over-a-dozen faces that adorned party’s mini-chariots in Bihar last year.

The BJP chariots in UP have two slogans – one highlighting the alleged poor governance of previous SP and BSP regimes, the other assuring BJP’s promise of holistic development – written prominently to drive home the party’s message across the state. “Na Goondaraj, Na Bhrashtachar, Abki Baar BJP Sarkar” (No rule of goons and corruption, bring BJP government) & “Poorn Bahumat, Sampoorn Vikas, BJP Per Hai Vishwas” (trust BJP for holistic development with clear mandate) are the two slogans finalised by the BJP leadership.

“Incumbent SP is a symbol of goondaism while BSP is a symbol of corruption. UP have lagged behind because of 14 years of their regime and BJP will bring the state out of this situation. They indulge in caste politics while BJP believes in development,” BJP general secretary Arun Singh says about party’s messages.

Having set out on a mission to win more than 265 seats in 403 member state assembly, the BJP’s Parivartan Yatra raths are slated to highlight four main issues – alleged land grabbing across the state at the behest of ruling SP members, corruption in state recruitments, poor plight of farmers and atrocities against women – to pin the incumbent SP government.