BJP to secure grand win in Maharashtra assembly polls: UP Dy CM Maurya

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya who has been made a co-incharge for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections team on Sunday said the state will get a grand win in the polls. Maurya based his optimism on the state natives' understanding and realisation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis "need each other" for the development of the country and the state.

"The party has appointed me as its sahprabhaari (co-incharge) for the assembly elections in Maharashtra. Mumbai will be my centre and I am fully confident that the BJP will secure a 'maha-vijay' in Maharashtra," said Maurya. "The people of Maharashtra know it very well that Maharashta Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis needs Prime Minister Modi for development of Maharshtra and the prime minister too wants to have Fadnavis there," he said.

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The two government are complimentary to each other," added Maurya. In the 2014 polls for the 288-member state assembly, the BJP had secured 122 seats with Shiv Sena getting 63, Congress 42 and NCP 41 respectively. Talking of the Uttar Pradesh assembly bypolls and its possible outcome, Maurya said the country continues to be under the BJP's spell. "The results of the UP bypolls will be definitely in favour of the BJP. The pro-BJP wave is intense in the entire country and the public support to the party is very strong," he said.

"The popularity of Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will definitely help the party clinch victory in the bypolls," he added. The outcome of the Uttar Pradesh bypolls is being billed as a yardsticks to measure popularity of Adityanath as well as newly-appointed party's state unit chief Swatantradev Singh. Bypolls are to be held for a total of 13 UP assembly seats, but the poll schedule as of now has been announced only for Hamirpur, which is slated for September 23.

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Bye-elections have been necessitated in Hamirpur due to the disqualification of the sitting BJP MLA Ashok Kumar Singh Chandel following his conviction in a murder case. The deputy chief minister exuded confidence of winning the Hamirpur assembly seat as well as others irrespective of the SP and BSP fight the polls in a "declared or undeclared poll alliance". "The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Part can enter into a declared or an undeclared alliance.

But, we have full faith in the party organisation, the people of the state and the leadership of Yogi Adityanath. We will emerge victorious in bypolls," he said. Maurya made the claim, reiterating the sarcastic names he had coined for the SP, BSP and the RLD -- the 'Samaapt Party,' 'Bilkul Samaapt Party' and 'Roj Ludhaktaa Dal'. On SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav defence of his party colleague and Rampur MP Azam Khan, Maurya said, "Mulayam Singh ji is a senior leader and I respect him. But any crime committed, be it by Azam Khan or an ordinary citizen, has to be dealt as per the law."

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"Whosoever is the guilty, will be punished," he added. On Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's hectic political activities in the state, Maurya took a subtle dig at her. "Priyanka ji was going very strong in the state during the Lok Sabha polls also. At that time, they were all set to annihilate the BJP and preparing for the swearing-in ceremony of Rahul Gandhi. But, something else was in store for them," he said.

"The Congress has lost its political ground and much worse will happen to it in the coming polls," predicted Maurya. On nullification of the Article 370, he said the entire country is happy over it. "There is a feeling that for the first time any government, which has just completed 100 days has done what could not be done in past 100 years. This is a very big achievement. It is a true tribute to Syama Prasad Mookerjee," he added. Maurya also flayed Congress for opposing the scrapping of Jammu and Kasmir's special status.

"The Congress always opposed it. The Congress leaders had hugged the Army chief of Pakistan. They had sought proof of the Army's surgical strike in Pakistan. And, the scrapping of Article 370 on which the entire country is united, the Congress says it is wrong," he added. On the issue of Lord Ram temple construction in Ayodhya, Maurya said, "The hearing is going on in the Supreme Court. Every Ram bhakt is extremely happy over it." "The first cause of happiness is nullification of Article 370. Not only me, but every Ram Bhakt is confident that the apex court will soon deliver its verdict in the favour of Ram temple," he said "And a grand temple of Ram Lalla will be built (in Ayodhya)," he added.