Yogi Adityanath says he is not worried

With opponents comparing the Lakhimpur Kheri incident to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in an attempt to delegitimize the BJP, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday that the law is taking its own course in the matter and that the Opposition's attempt to gain political mileage in the polls will fail.

Yogi Adityanath said in a free-wheeling conversation with PTI on board a helicopter during the campaign that the other parties were merely competing for second place and that he was unconcerned about his own election from Gorakhpur Urban seat.

"I am a simple worker of the BJP and perform the task given by the party to me. I have never run after any post or chair," When asked if he aspires to be Prime Minister, the saffron-clad seer, who is often nicknamed the poster boy of Hindutva, replied.

When asked about the Samajwadi Party's claim of being a "nayi (new) SP," Yogi Adityanath, the BJP's face in the key Uttar Pradesh elections, smiled.

He claims that the issuance of tickets to criminals, mafias, and those helping terrorists demonstrates that the party has not evolved "even a little bit."

"Nayi hawa hai par wahi SP hai" (the air is fresh but the SP is the same old one). There is not a bit of change in the nature of the party which, like in the past, has made criminals who are behind bars, mafias and those assisting terrorists as its nominees in the current election," he said.

The chief minister mocked Akhilesh Yadav's statement in his rallies that lawbreakers do not need to vote for him. "It's the opposite. He is asking law-breakers and anti-social elements to group together for the return of old rule."

The BJP has made law and order a major election issue, accusing the former SP administration of letting mafias and criminals a free hand.

Yogi Adityanath responded to Akhilesh Yadav's comparison of the killing of four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3 to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre during British rule, saying the law is taking its own course and the state government has no role to play.

Yogi Adityanath was on a quick trip of Lakhimpur Kheri, where he spoke at five election rallies ahead of the fourth phase elections on February 23. "The Supreme Court is seized of the matter and the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is working objectively in the incident. The state government has no interference in the matter."

In 2017, the BJP won all eight seats in the district.

The opposition is using the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, in which Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra is a main suspect, to make a political point against the BJP. Their attacks have intensified since Ashish Mishra was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court's Lucknow branch last week.

When four farmers were protesting against Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit to MOS native village for a program on October 3 last year, they were crushed under the wheels of SUVs. In the ensuing violence, four more people were killed, including two BJP activists, a chauffeur, and a journalist.

"Opposition is trying to derive political mileage from the incident that's why they are using it as 'rajnitik shagufa',"  Farmers will vote for the BJP because of the various programmes introduced for their benefit, he said.

Yogi Adityanath expressed his confidence in his own election in Gorakhpur Urban, which would be voted on in the fifth phase on February 27. 

"Why should I worry, it has been a traditional BJP seat and people themselves fight for the party there and they will do it this time too," the chief minister, who is running for the first time in an assembly election on his own turf, remarked.

There, the SP is fielding the widow of a former BJP politician. Apart from the Congress and BSP candidates, Azad Samaj Party founder Chandrasekhar alias "Ravana" is also running.

"They don't have any 'janadhar' (mass base) in UP," Yogi Adityanath remarked of major opposition groups including Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, Sharad Pawar's NCP, and the RJD's backing for the Samajwadi Party to defeat the BJP.

When asked who he sees as his biggest opponent in the 2022 UP elections, Yogi Adityanath responded, "We have no fight with anyone. They are fighting for the second position."

"We have a strong support base among 80 percent of the voters while they are fighting among themselves for the remaining 20 percent," he said. 

Yogi Adityanath described the prevalent idea that he was "opposed" to Muslims as "opponents' methods as part of their vote bank politics."

"There would be a stick of development in one hand while another hand will be on a bulldozer to drive over the anti-social forces," Yogi Adityanath stated, asserting that he would continue his operation against criminals and mafias after regaining power.