Stories
BJP's Purvanchal Battle Cry: Voting For SP Will Bring Back Atiq And Mukhtar
- •The BJP is banking heavily on its crackdown on organized crime and the legacy of law and order to stage a comeback in Purvanchal for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
- •Prominent mafia-gangsters of the region like Atiq Ahmed, Mukhtar Ansari, and Munna Bajrangi are dead, and their properties have been seized or demolished by the Yogi Adityanath government.
- •Despite the BJP's narrative on crime, the Samajwadi Party made significant gains in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections across Purvanchal's 26 parliamentary constituencies, driven by its PDA agenda and local issues like unemployment.
- •The BJP's election strategy involves warning voters that a vote for Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party will revive the reign of mafia dons, while highlighting regional development and enhanced safety for women.
Key Questions Answered
To stage a comeback in Purvanchal for the 2027 assembly elections, the BJP is heavily relying on a hardline law and order pitch, warning voters that voting for Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party will bring back former mafia figures like Atiq Ahmed and Mukhtar Ansari.
The BJP suffered a significant setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections across Purvanchal's 26 parliamentary constituencies, winning only 10 seats compared to 18 in 2019, while the Samajwadi Party emerged as the major winner with 14 seats.
According to official figures compiled over nine-and-a-half years, the Uttar Pradesh government reported that 303 criminals were killed in police encounters, 12,202 were injured, 23,601 wanted criminals were arrested, and action was taken against 87,835 individuals under the Gangsters Act.
