Yogi Adityanath Confident of Winning Amethi and Azamgarh, Says Modi Tsunami Will Wipe Out Oppn

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday morning proclaimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party is certain to secure 74 seats of the state's 80 seats, including those from the Azamgarh and Amethi, in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Adityanath, who was speaking at the News18 Agenda India Programme in Lucknow, also elucidated on the party’s strategy for the state that sends the most number of MPs to the parliament.

“The elections of 2019 is all about making the dreams of New India come true under the aegis of PM Narendra Modi. BJP is winning 74 seats in the state including Azamgarh and Amethi. We are not staking a claim to win all 80 seats because we don’t want to wipe out an opposition completely," he said.

Interestingly, Azamgarh is SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav’s home turf. It is likely that this time around SP chief Akhilesh Yadav will contest on the seat.

Amethi on the other hand is a Congress stronghold and the parliamentary constituency of the party’s chief, Rahul Gandhi.

Adityanath also said that he doesn’t see the Congress as posing a challenge in the state. “We don’t consider Congress as a danger in the state. They had bagged two seats in the last general elections and this time they will have trouble in saving that also. There might be a triangular contest on some seats but it will be mostly one-sided as the BJP will win most of seats," he said quipping that the “tsunami of Modi ji" will wipe out the opposition parties.

The UP Chief Minister also commented on Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi’s three-day boat tour from Prayagraj to Varanasi and said that it is good that the leader can see for herself the "amazing work" done by PM Modi for the Ganges River.

“If I have a right to campaign then others too have a right to campaign. The work which could not be done in so many years of rule by Gandhi-Nehru family was done by PM Modi and now opposition should not question the work done for river Ganga. I wish along with Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati could have also taken the boat ride," he said.