'All Our Potential CM Faces Are Better Ahan Akhilesh and Mayawati'

At the end of a gruelling day addressing election meetings in the Terai and Awadh regions, Amit Shah took time out to speak to Deputy Editor Uday Mahurkar aboard a chartered flight from Lucknow to Delhi. Excerpts from an interview in which the BJP national president spoke on the ruling party’s strategies and prospects in what is a crucial poll for both him and his mentor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

- Uday Mahurkar

Q. Of late, you have been saying that the BJP will win a two-thirds majority. What if Uttar Pradesh turns out to be another Bihar for the BJP?

A. The situation in UP is very different from Bihar. In UP, we are seeking a vote against 15 years of SP and BSP misrule, with the promise of turning things around with a clear-cut roadmap if we come to power. In Bihar, we had been in government only for a few months at the Centre. In UP, the SP and BSP have played the politics of caste and community. So, there is anger among people. In contrast, Narendra Modi’s name has emerged as a symbol of good and decisive governance. People have unflinching faith in his promise to change the destiny of the nation.

Moreover, the NDA government has launched a series of genuine pro-poor programmes. It has given 5.9 million LPG connections under the Ujjwala Yojana in UP in less than a year covering over 25 million BPL families. Plus, the prime minister has been decisive on national security issues. India’s prestige has reached a new high in the international community. The youth are inspired by Modiji.

Q. But Akhilesh too has emerged as a symbol of development...

A. Akhilesh’s development talk is cosmetic and mere eyewash. It was only after we won the 2014 Lok Sabha poll in UP handsomely on the basis of Modi’s development promises that Akhilesh awakened to the reality of development.