"Peoples Inclination Is Clear": BJP Leader Ahead Of Key UP Election

Bypolls are being held in Rampur one after the other and the inclination of people is clear, senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Saturday.

He was referring to the BJP's victory in the Rampur Lok Sabha by-election earlier this year.

Mr Naqvi, who visited Kakraua village in Rampur to campaign for BJP candidate for the upcoming bypoll in the assembly segment Akash Saxena, also praised his party-led central and Uttar Pradesh governments for carrying out development work without discrimination.

The former Union minister was accompanied by Mr Saxena, Minister of State Baldev Singh Aulakh and Rampur MP Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi. He participated in a 'khichdi' panchayat organised in the village in support of Mr Saxena, ate 'khichdi' (a dish prepared using lentils and rice) with villagers and appealed to them to vote for the BJP candidate.

Addressing a gathering, Mr Naqvi said, "Bypolls are being held here one after the other and the inclination of people is clear." In an apparent jibe at SP leader Azam Khan, whose disqualification from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly following his conviction in a hate speech case necessitated the bypoll, Mr Naqvi said some are saying that Rampur is someone's stronghold but there can be no landlord without land.

Praising the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led state government, Mr Naqvi said they undertake development without discrimination.

Polling for the Rampur Assembly bypoll will be held on December 5 and the counting of votes will be taken up on December 5.

The SP has placed its bets on Azim Raza, who is considered close to Mr Khan and had lost to the BJP's Ghanshyam Lodhi in the Rampur Lok Sabha bypoll in June.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)