3 reasons why PM Modi's Meerut rally matters for BJP in Lok Sabha polls 2024
Bhartiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Lok Sabha election campaign in Uttar Pradesh. The rally, at the Potato Research Institute ground, is the first occasion since 2014 when PM Modi will share stage with BJP ally and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will also be present on the stage.
Jayant received the Bharat Ratna for his grandfather and former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh from President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on March 30. Earlier with INDIA bloc, the RLD switched sides and joined BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in February this year after PM Modi announced the Bharat Ratnas. Follow INDIA Bloc Maharally LIVE Updates Here Sources said that the BJP has chosen Meerut for PM Modi’s rally as part of a strategy.
Meerut has a sizeable population of Jats and Gurjars. The BJP is trying to woo both the communities, more so after the BJP-RLD alliance. The RLD has presence among Jat voters in the west UP region.
The BJP has allotted two seats—Bijnor and Baghpat—to the RLD. In 2019 elections, PM Modi kicked off his Uttar Pradesh poll campaign from Meerut. The BJP has fielded actor-turned politician Arun Govil from Meerut Lok Sabha seat.
Govil played Ram in Ramanand Sagar's popular TV serial Ramayan. BJP leader Rajendra Agarwal had won the Meerut seat three times in 2009, 2014 and 2019. Meerut is considered the gateway of Western Uttar Pradesh.
The state, in general, and seats in its western part, in particular, are crucial for the 370 seats target for the BJP and 400 seats target for the NDA. Uttar Pradesh sends 80 seats, highest in the country, to Lok Sabha. In 2014 parliamentary elections, the BJP won 71 seats from UP and in 2019 the party won 62
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