Lucknow: With just over 48 hours remaining for the announcement of the first list of candidates for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Bharatiya Janata Party had drawn up an aggressive poll campaign in the state with election war-room being set to counter any opposition onslaught. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah will go for a rapid electioneering, starting from western UP, which goes to polls in the first two phases of the elections.
The party had also decided to highlight positive aspects of demonetisation and other issues before the masses. Sources in the party here today said the first list of the candidates could be announced on Sunday. "The party has already shortlisted the candidates for 250 seats out of the total 403 and in the first list the party could release the candidates names for 140 seats from west UP which goes to polls in the first two phases on February 11 and 15," sources said further. The notification for the first phase is scheduled to be issued on January 17. BJP is also likely to give some seats to its allies -- Apna Dal and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP)-- Apna Dal could get eight seats and SBSP -four.
Meanwhile, BJP had set up a ultra modern election war room in Lucknow with round the clock monitoring of the campaigning and its impact. Social networking, research and analysis, news monitoring and press briefing were the highlight of the war room where around 100 youths had been engaged by the party to work round the clock. BJP had also drawn up a mega programme on poster war, highlighting the present law and order and others failures of the present Samajwadi Party government in the state besides projecting the good governance of Narendra Modi government.
UP BJP general secretary Vijay Bahduar Pathak said here that party would go for a positive campaigning in this elections. "We will reach people with a positive vibe and certainly get their full support to form the next government in the state," Pathak claimed. BJP had recently concluded major pre-poll campaign with four Parivartan Yatras, OBC sammelan, Yuva Sammelan and Mahila Sammelan, culminating with Modi’s rally in Lucknow on January 2, which the party claimed, several lakhs of people had attended it. (UNI)