BJP's game plan for 2017 UP elections – multiple Narendra Modi rallies, no CM face

New Delhi: The BJP, which is eyeing a comeback in Uttar Pradesh, has decided to rope in Prime Minister Narendra Modi for back-to-back pre-poll rallies in six different politically crucial zones across the state.

The UP BJP, also, meanwhile announced yesterday that party will not name any Chief Ministerial candidate ahead of the crucial assembly polls.

According to a Times of India report, the prime minister is expected to address about six to eight rallies during the months of November and December, which would set the tone and the tenor ahead of the assembly elections in UP.

The BJP game plan is hold one Modi rally every 10-15 days during the two months. This is what we desire to achieve," a senior UP BJP official was quoted as saying.

However, the party is yet to decide the location and dates of the Modi rallies. It is expected that a decision in this regard could be taken as BJP's Parivartan Yatras, starting early next month, progress across the state.

Interestingly, the party has already planned to hold a mega rally in Lucknow after the completion of ''Parivartan Yatras'' in the last week of December.

Although it is still unconfirmed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address a rally in Mahoba in Bundelkhand region of the state on October 24 which will be followed by a visit to his Lok Sabha constituency - Varanasi.

BJP's plan for back-to-back Modi rallies follows Narendra Modi's previous pattern of starting early to mobilise the electorate during 2014 Lok Sabha elections as well as in the run up 2015 Bihar assembly elections.

Narendra Modi had addressed eight pre-poll rallies across UP in the run up to 2014 Lok Sabha elections to set the electoral pitch for the BJP.

The party undertook similar exercise in 2015 as well when as PM Narendra Modi addressed four pre-poll rallies in four different zones of Bihar in the run up to state assembly elections.

Modi has already addressed public meetings in Saharanpur, Ballia, Gorakhpur and Allahabad since May this year.

Rival BSP supremo Mayawati, in this backdrop, advanced her pre-poll rallies and have held five rallies - Agra, Azamgarh, Allahabad, Saharanpur and Lucknow - across the state during end August to early October.

However, ruling Samajwadi Party has not been able to organize big rallies of Mulayam Singh Yadav due to the ongoing feud in the veteran Socialist leader's family.

Its scheduled rally on October 7 was postponed indefinitely while CM Akhilesh Yadav has been touring the state on various government related programmes to sell party's developmental works.