If Lok Sabha elections were all about campaign blitzkrieg, then political bigwigs across party lines knew no limits – at least in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh.
For BJP, PM Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah led from the front and addressed 24 and 30 public rallies, respectively, in the last one-and-a-half months of the hectic and high-stake elections.At times, Modi and Shah addressed three to four rallies in a day.
The political stir evoked by Modi and Shah was further amplified by CM Yogi Adityanath who, according to the UP BJP unit, turned up in all 80 Lok Sabha seats to address rallies at least twice within a space of around 2 months. He often accompanied PM Modi in some of his rallies. In all, Yogi attended 204 election-related events in 61 days of his campaigning for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Modi, like in 2014 and 2019, started his poll campaign in UP by addressing a rally in Meerut, which went to the polls in the second phase. In all, the PM traversed through the state to cover as many as 70 Lok Sabha seats.
Besides public rallies, PM Modi also held as many as five road shows in Varanasi, Ayodhya, Kanpur, Ghaziabad and Bareilly. The road shows were strategically planned and aimed to touch at least five organisational regions, including West UP, Braj, Awadh, Kanpur-Bundelkhand and Kashi. Modi’s road shows in Varanasi and Ayodhya were categorically perceived to sharpen BJP’s religious-cultural narrative, especially after the inauguration of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Shah, too, led two road shows – one in Amethi and the other in Ghazipur. Both these road shows, too, were part of BJP’s deft planning to ratchet up the poll fervour in the two constituencies which the BJP seeks to win desperately. Shah also worked behind the curtains while holding key organisational meetings after each phase.
Likewise, for the INDIA bloc, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav addressed nearly 83 solo public rallies besides five joint rallies with former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and six road shows. Akhilesh criss-crossed the state by air as well as in his customised ‘rath’ to meet his party supporters. In between, he held meetings with his party leaders – both sitting and ex-MLAs – seeking ground-level feedback.
Even his wife and Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav campaigned hectically till Thursday. Their eldest daughter Aditi, too, joined her parents in reaching out to the voters. Just like those of BJP, the rallies of Akhilesh, too, drew huge crowds. However, in some of his rallies, like the one in Prayagraj, supporters turned unruly and rushed to the dais.
Separately, Rahul addressed 10 rallies, including the ones in Rae Bareli, from where he contested, Amroha, Kannauj, Kanpur, Lucknow, Amethi, Prayagraj, Bansgaon and Varanasi. His sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, too, addressed public meetings in Amethi, Rae Bareli and Gorakhpur, besides four nukkad sabhas and five road shows. BSP chief Mayawati addressed around 28 public meetings which had a significant turnout. Her nephew and former national coordinator Akash Anand, too, addressed at least a dozen public meetings to garner support for the party.
For BJP, PM Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah led from the front and addressed 24 and 30 public rallies, respectively, in the last one-and-a-half months of the hectic and high-stake elections.At times, Modi and Shah addressed three to four rallies in a day.
The political stir evoked by Modi and Shah was further amplified by CM Yogi Adityanath who, according to the UP BJP unit, turned up in all 80 Lok Sabha seats to address rallies at least twice within a space of around 2 months. He often accompanied PM Modi in some of his rallies. In all, Yogi attended 204 election-related events in 61 days of his campaigning for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Modi, like in 2014 and 2019, started his poll campaign in UP by addressing a rally in Meerut, which went to the polls in the second phase. In all, the PM traversed through the state to cover as many as 70 Lok Sabha seats.
Besides public rallies, PM Modi also held as many as five road shows in Varanasi, Ayodhya, Kanpur, Ghaziabad and Bareilly. The road shows were strategically planned and aimed to touch at least five organisational regions, including West UP, Braj, Awadh, Kanpur-Bundelkhand and Kashi. Modi’s road shows in Varanasi and Ayodhya were categorically perceived to sharpen BJP’s religious-cultural narrative, especially after the inauguration of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Shah, too, led two road shows – one in Amethi and the other in Ghazipur. Both these road shows, too, were part of BJP’s deft planning to ratchet up the poll fervour in the two constituencies which the BJP seeks to win desperately. Shah also worked behind the curtains while holding key organisational meetings after each phase.
Likewise, for the INDIA bloc, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav addressed nearly 83 solo public rallies besides five joint rallies with former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and six road shows. Akhilesh criss-crossed the state by air as well as in his customised ‘rath’ to meet his party supporters. In between, he held meetings with his party leaders – both sitting and ex-MLAs – seeking ground-level feedback.
Even his wife and Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav campaigned hectically till Thursday. Their eldest daughter Aditi, too, joined her parents in reaching out to the voters. Just like those of BJP, the rallies of Akhilesh, too, drew huge crowds. However, in some of his rallies, like the one in Prayagraj, supporters turned unruly and rushed to the dais.
Separately, Rahul addressed 10 rallies, including the ones in Rae Bareli, from where he contested, Amroha, Kannauj, Kanpur, Lucknow, Amethi, Prayagraj, Bansgaon and Varanasi. His sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, too, addressed public meetings in Amethi, Rae Bareli and Gorakhpur, besides four nukkad sabhas and five road shows. BSP chief Mayawati addressed around 28 public meetings which had a significant turnout. Her nephew and former national coordinator Akash Anand, too, addressed at least a dozen public meetings to garner support for the party.