"Bulldozers Back Tomorrow": BJP Workers Celebrate UP Win With Warning

Bulldozer was the biggest factor in the second straight victory for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, a party worker sporting a toy bulldozer mounted on his head told NDTV. Dressed in saffron and shouting "Bharat mata ki jai (long live mother India)," Shubham Kashyap from Lucknow said that bulldozers will start operating again on "opponents" from tomorrow. At the spirited celebrations outside the BJP office in Lucknow, he thanked the people for the massive verdict to Yogi Adityanath and PM Modi. 

Yogi Adityanath is all set to return as Chief Minister with vote count trends showing a spectacular victory for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. The ruling party could cross 270 out of the total 403 seats in the state. With leads in 126 seats right now, Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, though up from last time, is lagging far behind its rival. 

Bulldozer, a reference to Yogi Adityanath's move to raze properties belonging to criminals, has been a hot topic during the state election campaigning. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, while claiming that his rival would lose the elections, had called the Chief Minister "Baba Bulldozer" who had then taken a potshot at the SP leader saying that the "bulldozer does not talk" but it works well.

"Bulldozer will move against unsocial elements and mafia after March 10," Yogi Adityanath had recently said at a public rally in Tarauli village of Chhatta assembly constituency.

Projecting himself as tough on crime, Yogi Adityanath has often used the bulldozer reference to demonstrate to the voters that he will make Uttar Pradesh safer. BJP has also relentlessly targeted the Samajwadi Party, accusing it of harbouring and protecting criminals and the "mafia". 

"BJP government believes in development but also has bulldozers for the mafia and that is why women in the state feel safe," he had said.

A BJP Telangana MLA was also recently banned from campaigning for 72 hours for threatening voters with a bulldozer reference. 

He had said that those who do not vote for the BJP should know that "Yogi Ji" (Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath) has called for thousands of JCBs and bulldozers.

"You do know the purpose JCBs and bulldozer... If you have to live in UP, you will have to chant Yogi-Yogi or leave Uttar Pradesh," he had said in Hindi.