"People have made up their minds to...": Deputy CM Pathak says BJP poised to sweep west UP

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 19 (ANI): After polling for eight Lok Sabha seats in the state was conducted successfully in the opening phase, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Friday said he was confident that the BJP would come out comfortable winners in all constituencies of western Uttar Pradesh.
Speaking at a press conference at the party's state headquarters in Lucknow on Friday, Pathak said, "Polling in the first phase of elections (in the state) concluded successfully today. The excitement and enthusiasm of voters, especially the poor, youth, farmers, and women, as they queued up to vote was palpable. There is a pro-BJP wave sweeping the state and I can say with confidence that the people voted in our favour. I have no doubts that the BJP will win all eight seats (in West UP). It is clear that the people have made up their minds to give another decisive mandate to the BJP-led NDA under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The people have roundly rejected the corrupt INDI-alliance. The SP, BSP and the Congress will be routed in the elections. The people have voted against caste-based politics and for security, development and good governance."
He said the voters have, yet again, discarded an Opposition that has been trying to divide the state on the lines of caste and religion.
"It is clear from the first phase of polling (in west UP) that the people have voted to rid the country of the Congress and the state of the SP. History will repeat itself and the outcome this time will be similar to what happened in the 2014 and 2019 elections. The lotus will bloom again and we will win all 80 seats in UP. The INDIA parties only did press conferences instead of connecting with voters," he added.
Along with Saharanpur, eight seats in western Uttar Pradesh, including Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina, Moradabad, and Rampur, went to polls in the first phase of the general elections.
In the 2019 elections, turning the arithmetic of the SP-BSP 'Mahagatbandhan' in Uttar Pradesh upside down, the BJP and its ally Apna Dal (S) won 64 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats. The partners in the alliance, Akhilesh Yadav's SP and Mayawati's BSP, could only muster 15 seats.
The curtains went up on the festival of democracy in the country on Friday, with 102 constituencies across 21 states and Union Territories polling in the opening phase. (ANI)