Need to gear up for 2019 polls: CM

Buoyed by the BJP’s massive victory in the just-concluded Assembly polls, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has now set his eyes on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Addressing BJP workers and leaders in Gorakhpur on Sunday, Adityanath said the party, which had bagged 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state, could improve its tally in 2019.

“Hum mauj-masti karne nahin ayen... kaam karne ayen hain... hame 2019 ki tayari karni hai (we are not in power to enjoy... we are here to work... we have to prepare for 2019),” he said. The chief minister asked the party workers to work on the seats where the party was “weak”, and ensure it bagged more number of seats in the 2019 general polls. He said that his government had initiated several measures to change the state. “The measures will start showing results in the next two months,” he said.

“We have to change the image of the state... UP should no longer be remembered as a state where women do not feel safe and which has no roads or power,” the chief minister said. Adityanath asked the party cadre to avoid making negative comments and instead channelise their energy in constructive works.

He said BJP national president Amit Shah had entrusted him with the responsibility of ensuring a clean sweep in the Gorakhpur division, which had 62 Assembly seats. “We were able to win 46 seats in the division,” he said.