BJP in election gear, to hold two 'yatras' in UP

Ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party will be organising two separate yatras led by its veteran leaders from October 13 to mobilise voters in the region.

BJP national vice president Kalraj Mishra told PTI in Panaji on Thursday that he along with former party president Rajnath Singh would be undertaking the 'yatras' commencing from Varanasi and Mathura respectively.

While Mishra will leave from Varanasi and cover Eastern UP, Bundelkhand, Kanpur, Awadh and later conclude his rally at Lucknow, Singh is expected to leave from Mathura and culminate his rally also in the UP capital on November 22.

Mishra said the yatras would cover at least 380 out of 403 legislative assembly constituencies of UP.

"We will also announce our candidates during the yatras. We aim to have a direct connect with people from villages through this yatra," the leader said alleging that Mayawati government has oppressed poor people, who are now finding BJP as an alternative.

Mishra said the party has already begun its exercise to hold booth-level and assembly-level conventions in the state.

"We have held 200 assembly-level conventions through which we are reaching out to the masses," he said. "We are mobilising workers and voters too," he added.