Ghaziabad

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday took out a 35-minute roadshow in Ghaziabad’s Linepaar area in support of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Sanjeev Sharma ahead of the polls. November 20.

Following election campaigns in Phulpur in Prayagraj, Sisamau in Kanpur and Khair in Aligarh – which will also go to polls on the same day – the CM’s roadshow covered a 1.25 kilometer route from Chanakya Chowk to DAV Chowk.

Donning a saffron headgear, CM Adityanath greeted the crowd amid loud sounds of dhol and trumpet. He was flanked by Sharma, the candidate, and Ghaziabad MP Atul Garg atop an open-top vehicle.

The CM had planned to address a rally, but changed his plan due to the huge noise and music systems installed along the route, party members said. “Even though the road show was held without the CM’s address, it gave a certain message to the voters encouraging them to come and vote. CM Yogi has iconic appeal and is one of the most popular leaders in the country. People were flocking to catch a glimpse of him,” said Ashu Verma, in-charge of the Ghaziabad assembly headquarters.

The localities beyond Ghaziabad railway station are collectively called “Linepaar”, where there is a strong presence of unplanned residential colonies, slums and a few high-rise buildings. These localities account for nearly 65 per cent of the total voters for the Ghaziabad assembly seat, including the majority of backward class, Dalit and minority voters.

“We are not worried about the PDA (Pichda-Dalit-Alpsankhyak) formula as we focus on the development of all groups and classes. The Samajwadi Party (SP) is again working on the PDA formula for this bypass and they will surely lose as the voters know that the SP only cares about a specific vote bank and family,” Verma said.

BJP’s Sharma faces competition from SP’s Singhraj Jatav, who resides in Linepaar. Besides these two, there are 12 others in the fray.

Responding to the BJP, SP district president Faisal Hussain said, “The roadshow shows that the BJP is worried about the PDA voters since they were defeated in the recent Lok Sabha elections. This is why the CM himself came to Linepaar areas but left without giving answers to the public about the lack of development and lack of civic amenities here. The CM’s concern is evident as he visited Ghaziabad four times in view of the bypass.