PM Modi lashed out at the opposition Samajwadi Party over law and order when it was in power (File)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday indicated that Yogi Adityanath is the BJP's choice as the next chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, saying if his government is formed again he would make up for the time lost by the state due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The PM's remarks at a virtual poll rally went beyond praise for Mr Adityanath for the work done by the state's BJP government during his term -- and appeared to settle the debate over the party's CM face in these assembly elections.
The virtual rally, his third recently for UP, comes just days before the first phase of polling on February 10.
He lashed out at the opposition Samajwadi Party over law and order when it was in power, just before Mr Adityanath's government took charge in 2017.
The PM lauded what the BJP government has accomplished in the state and said if there hadn't been the pandemic over the past two years, Mr Adityanath would have done even better.
"If Yogi ji's government is formed again, the work of giving houses to the poor will be done faster," he said. Had the government's efforts not been spent on saving lives, the state would have reached another level under him, PM Modi added.
The PM said he believed that the people of Uttar Pradesh will give such overwhelming majority to the BJP for the coming five years that Mr Aditynath will get the strength to accomplish such tasks.
He also projected Mr Adityanath as the next chief minister while mentioning the Centre's Ujjwala scheme that gives free cooking gas connections.
"The women of UP have decided that they have to make the BJP win and make Yogi ji chief minister again (Bhajpa ko jitana jai, Yogi ji ko phir mukhya mantra banana hai)," he said.
Months back, there was speculation that the Bharatiya Janata Party was contemplating a new chief minister if it comes back to power in UP.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah dispelled the impression in October, saying if people of Uttar Pradesh wanted to see Narendra Modi as prime minister in 2024 they must elect Mr Adityanath as chief minister in 2022.
Addressing voters in Mathura, Agra and Bulandshahr, PM Modi said the people of UP have decided that development will be the biggest issue in the elections.
Hitting out at the previous governments, the PM said, "Those who were in power earlier were not concerned with faith or your needs. Their only agenda was to loot UP." "The people of UP have bluntly said no matter how much politics some people do on the basis of money, muscle power, casteism or communalism, they will not get the public's love," he said.
Taking a swipe at Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav over a recent remark, the prime minister said, "Witnessing the immense support for the BJP, these people are now seeing Lord Krishna in their dreams." He accused the opposition of encouraging corruption. "Another favourite game of the earlier governments was filling their lockers. Everyone used to play together, eat together. Today, the whole game of such people has been spoiled." Apparently referring to the SP, he said, "Earlier, the family was the government. Now, entire UP is the family of the BJP government," he said.
PM Modi said the spirits of criminals were so high under the previous governments that they stopped vehicles and robbed people on the highways.
"It was their job to create fear, we are creating the future," he said.
"Today, sisters and daughters in UP say they were scared to leave their homes and now criminals tremble under the BJP rule," he said.
"Under the BJP government, the criminals either went to jail or left the state. Some got their bail cancelled and some hesitated in coming out of the jail. All this happened not because of Yogi ji but because of the resolve of the people of UP. Because you voted for Yogi ji and the BJP." He called previous governments dynastic, an apparent reference to the SP.
"For 'parivarwadi' governments, power was the medium of governance. For us, power is the way to serve people. We are continuously working towards this objective. Our government is making every effort to make villages and the poor strong and prosperous." He said in the last five years, the Adityanath government handed over 85,000 houses to the poor in Agra, Mathura and Bulandshahr. The previous government built just 8,000 in urban areas in this region, he claimed.
He accused the "fake Samajwadis" of trying to incite sugarcane farmers by telling falsehoods.
"The youth of UP has not forgotten what used to be the qualifications for a job in the earlier governments?" he said, adding that now everyone enjoyed equal opportunities.
He claimed that a record number of government jobs have been given to the youth in UP in recent years.