Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh will be held early next year. (File)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met BJP MPs from Uttar Pradesh over breakfast today. The meeting, which was attended by 36 party leaders, comes months ahead of assembly polls in the state.
The Prime Minister met the lawmakers in two groups - of 20 and 16. BJP National President JP Nadda and Union Minister Prahlad Joshi were present in both the meetings.
The PM did not discuss the upcoming state elections during the meetings and discussed non-political issues. He asked the MPs about organising a sports competition and the 'azadi ka amrit mahotsav' event.
PM Modi also urged the party leaders to hold regular talks with the senior people in their constitutency.
During the Winter Session of Parliament, the PM has been regularly holding breakfast meetings with party MPs. Earlier this week, he met with the party leaders from Madhya Pradesh.
Friday's meeting came days after the Prime Minister inaugurated the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi. During his visit, he also chaired a meeting with 12 chief ministers from BJP-ruled states on good governance practices in Varanasi.
In a big election push, the ruling party will also hold a series of 'yatras' across the state before the end of December. The six yatras will cover each of the 403 assembly seats in the state. Such yatras have been a customary part of the party's campaign in assembly polls.
The BJP has announced an alliance with the Nishad Party and Apna Dal (S) in Uttar Pradesh.
The party will also hold a rally in Lucknow with the Nishad Party later today. Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will attend the event.
Assembly elections will be held early next year in five states -- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur. Elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat will be held in late 2022.
In the 2017 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 312 seats in the 403-seat Uttar Pradesh Assembly. Samajwadi Party (SP) bagged 47 seats, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) won 19 and Congress could manage to win only seven seats.