The BJP in Uttar Pradesh is turning towards villages and the ruling BSP is trying to find a firm foothold in the urban centres of the state.
Both the parties, in an attempt to expand their existing vote bases, are treading on each other’s territory but taking care not to cross each other’s path.
The BJP has embarked on a month-long “Gaon Chalo Abhiyan” under which senior party leaders will spend at least one night in a village and interact with the local people. The BJP leaders will also ‘expose’ the true face of the state and central government and explain to the village residents how the Congress and the BSP are responsible for the uncontrolled increase in inflation and corruption and total lack of development.
The BJP, which kicked off its “Gaon Chalo Abhiyan” on Wednesday, has been essentially known as an urban-centric party and now wants to reach out to the people in the rural interiors.
“People presume that the BJP is restricted only to the cities but this time, we are keen to make our presence felt in the rural areas as well. During the next one month, we will reach out to the people in villages and strengthen the party organisation at the grassroots level,” said a senior party functionary.
That the BJP is sufficiently serious about making inroads into the rural interiors is evident from the fact that on the first day of the month-long programme, former BJP president Rajnath Singh went to Gadsona village in Meerut, state party chief Surya Pratap Shahi chose Pyavali village in Gautam Buddha Nagar while Kalraj Misra stayed back at a village in Gorakhpur.
The BSP, on the other hand, is also keen to shed its rural image and make its presence felt in the urban cities also. The party, accor-ding to sources, is making a conscious effort to develop an urban-friendly image that cuts across casteism.
“We are targeting the urban middle class that votes on issues and not on caste equations alone. Our workers are reaching out to the urban population in a phased manner and our leadership is also trying to cultivate the urban dwellers,” said a party leader.
Ms Mayawati, significantly, has been paying greater attention to urban development in the past few months. She has been personally supervising the upgradation of civic amenities, restructuring of infrastructural facilities in the KAVAL (Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Agra and Lucknow) towns, apart from development of Mathura-Vrindavan.
“This time, the chief minister has chosen to concentrate on urban development in a big way. The amount of work being undertaken in the cities is unprecedented,” says a senior government official.
Apparently, the BSP, which already has a strong base at the village level, is working its way up in the cities.