State BJP leaders to campaign in UP

Mumbai: With polling having ended in Maharashtra, several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders from the state with roots in north India will campaign in Uttar Pradesh. State BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said several leaders from Maharashtra had either gone to UP or would be going soon. Mr Bhandari also said that north Indian politicians settled in Maharashtra were volunteering to campaign for BJP nominees in their home states.

Mumbai BJP general secretary Amarjeet Mishra Tuesday left for Lucknow for the campaign of Union home minister Rajnath Singh. Mr Mishra said, “Seventy workers of the party from Mumbai will be descending in the UP capital to campaign for Mr Singh.”

He said that chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will campaign for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Varanasi constituency, as Mr Fadnavis is familiar with Varanasi. Many Marathi speaking people are in Varanasi. Mr Fadnavis will also campaign for film actor Ravi Kishan, who has been fielded from the Gorakhpur constituency.

Sources in the BJP said that Mr Fadnavis was likely to address at least 12 rallies, mainly in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Mr Mishra said that many residents of Mumbai whose families lived in Uttar Pradesh, would span across various districts in the northern state and spread word to vote for Mr Modi. 45 people in Varanasi, 25 people in Azamgarh and 22 people in Gorakhapur and Bhadohi would campaign for the BJP.