Akhilesh Yadav is losing from Karhal and had to push his “old father and uncle” into campaigning there after humiliating them to no end earlier, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has told News18 in an interview.

News18 went on the campaign trail with Maurya on Friday as he did three back-to-back rallies and returned to campaign in his constituency, Sirathu. “In the first two phases, the cycle has already blown away to Saifai. Samajwadi Party will be Samaptvadi Party after March 10 and their maximum candidates will lose the deposits,” Maurya told News18 two days before people cast their votes in Phase 3 of UP elections.

Maurya’s last rally of the day was in Unchahar in Rae Bareli, a constituency held by the SP for the last decade. From the stage, he held aloft the hand of BJP candidate Amarpal Maurya and said he will send over 100 bulldozers to Unchahar after March 10 for illicit properties built under the reign of SP MLA Manoj Pandey. “Our bulldozer will run in UP from March 10 again to vacate each inch of illegally grabbed land,” Maurya told News18.

News18 asked Maurya about Akhilesh’s claim that SP-RLD have already hit a century of seats in the first two phases. “Akhilesh was saying in 2014 that he is winning 70 seats and had said either his father or he will become the PM. In 2017, Akhilesh said he is returning to power with 300 seats. In 2019, SP-BSP-Congress joined hands and even then we won 64 seats with 51% vote share,” Maurya countered.

BJP Dropping to 250 Seats?

We also ask him about the ‘political wisdom’ in the state that the BJP-led alliance may drop its seat tally to around 250 from 325 presently. “This is a hypothetical question. I do not agree with this (notion). I feel we will win 300-plus seats. Many opponent candidates will lose their deposits,” Maurya said. He quickly added: “Samajwadi Party will be Samaptvadi Party after March 10. Akhilesh Yadav is losing from the Karhal seat.”

Akhilesh, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav campaigned together in Mainpuri on Thursday in a rare sight. “You can imagine the situation that all three of them were in Mainpuri yesterday — Akhilesh had earlier said he won’t return to campaign after nomination. Akhilesh took his aged father there whose party presidency he snatched. He took his uncle there whom he removed as minister. The person who did not respect his father or uncle, how will people accept him? That is why he was rejected by people in 2014, 2017 and 2019,” Maurya said.

Phase 3 is Yadav Stronghold?

The Phase 3 of the election largely covers the ‘Yadav belt’ where the SP is said to be strong but, faced reverses in 2017. “The SP thought it had some bastions due to its mafia elements and goondas, but all those bastions of SP became impregnable fortresses of the BJP. You will realise on March 10 that Mainpuri is not the den of SP’s goondas but of common people voting for the BJP,” Maurya told News18.

He added that SP is the chief of every mafia, corrupt and rioter. “They call it the new SP. Then why have they given tickets to mafia and riot-accused? Nayi SP nahi, yeh wohi SaPa hai. People are angry with them and won’t vote for them,” Maurya said.

Maurya cited electricity as a major reason for voters preferring the BJP. “In SP time, bijli aati nahi thi, ab jaati nahi hai,” he said.

Asked which was a bigger trump card for the BJP – free rations or the bulldozer – and Maurya was in his element. “Modi has said that till he is PM, he won’t let any poor person be hungry. If the free rations that we gave to people during the pandemic had come under SP rule, their netas would have gobbled it all up,” Maurya said.

The Deputy CM also issued a note of caution for the people, saying that while BJP’s lotus symbol is a “guarantee of safety and security”, the ‘Lal Topi’ of Samajwadi Party is a danger for 24 crore people of UP.

He added that “no goonda should be under the illusion that if he is a post-holder in any party, or an MLA or MP, and has done any illegal land-grab, the bulldozer will not run there.”

“I want to tell such a person that after March 10 bulldozer will run again and we will get every inch of land vacated for building houses for poor and schools,” Maurya told News18.

The Concern Areas

We asked Maurya about some concern areas for the BJP like the stray cattle issue that is troubling many voters and the apprehension of the non-Yadav OBC voters moving away from the BJP.

“We will not let cattle be slaughtered or allow them to graze the crops or let them starve. We will make gaushalas on big scale and have provided for it in the budget too. After March 10, we will make the state free of this problem,” Maurya said.

He also advised against taking SP’s claims seriously on OBC voters deserting the BJP. “Don’t believe the SP. Have any of their claims since 2014 proven to be correct? Good statements handed over to Akhilesh by someone to say don’t mean anything. The women, the youth, the aged all want to vote for BJP, Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath. One who takes UP on development path will get votes,” Maurya said.

On that note, a long day in the election campaign winds up with Maurya ending it much beyond the scheduled time given his campaign in Sirathu. Maurya’s own seat will go to polls on February 27.

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