BJP all set to encash UP victory in Gujarat Assembly polls

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Lucknow: The BJP is all set to encash its UP civic poll performance in Gujarat by utilising newly elected mayors for campaigning in the poll-bound state.

The BJP has won 14 out of 16 mayoral seats in civic polls in UP and all the newly elected leaders will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow to seek his blessings.

Thereafter, they will proceed to Gujarat for campaigning for the Assembly elections there on December 9 and 14.

"The newly elected mayors will meet the prime minister over tea tomorrow in Delhi. They are all devoted party workers and will be used where ever the party needs them," BJP state general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak told PTI.

Amethi Nagar Panchyat Chairperson Chandrama Devi and Jais Nagar Palika Parishad Mahesh Pratap will be among those who will be meeting Modi.

Though Congress did not field any candidate in Amethi, the victory of a BJP candidate there is still considered a major blow to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as it is his parliamentary constituency and considered a Congress bastion.

The Congress lost in Jais and Gauriganj where Nagar Palika polls were held. In Amethi and Musafirkhana, where Nagar Panchayat polls were held, the party had not fielded anyone.

With the BJP's extensive campaign in the local polls in UP paying off, the sweeping win is considered as a boost to the saffron party in the midst of the high-decibel campaign for the Gujarat elections.

Counting of votes in Gujarat will be taken up on December 18.

The UP civic elections were touted as the first litmus test of Yogi Adityanath after the BJP stormed to power in March.

The saffron surge routed the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, both of which drew a blank in mayoral polls.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who has been drafted as the key campaigner in Gujarat and went on a nearly 90-day whirlwind tour of the state, described it as a "historic win".

He attributed the victory to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision and BJP chief Amit Shah's able guidance and added that the BJP will now look forward to achieving the goal of one hundred per cent success in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

"The victory of party has sent positive message among the people who are already admirers of Narendra Modiji. There is a significant population of people from east UP in Gujarat," said BJP leader and state spokesman Shalabh Mani Tripathi, who is campaigning in Gujarat for the past one month.

"Yogiji is already a star campaigner and our newly elected mayors with their success stories will add to our ongoing campaigning here," Tripathi said.