A sizeable crowd of enthusiastic supporters chanted “Pankaj Singh zindabad, Rajnath Singh zindabaad” as the cavalcade of the Union Home Minister’s son, who is contesting the UP elections on a BJP ticket from Noida, passed by the busy Sector 22 on Friday, clearly indicating there is not much of a competition in the urban constituency which the BJP has won twice since its creation in 2012.
Pankaj Singh, who was flanked by many veterans of the BJP cadre, received a strong display of support from the youth who had gathered to see the 40-year-old address a booth-level meeting in Chauda village in Noida’s Sector 22. Several young boys, many of whom are first time voters, had also dotted the community centre in Sector 18, Singh’s another venue. They waved at him and assured him their support.
“Humne jaise Atal ji ka saath diya waise hi Pankaj Singh ka denge. Chaura gaon ke kam se kam 90% vote BJP ko jayega yeh humara vaada hai (We’ll support Pankaj Singh the way we supported Atal Behari Vajpayee. At least 90% of the votes from Chaura village will go to the BJP),” an old BJP worker told this reporter, reflecting the jubilant mood of the cadre.
“Pankaj Bhaiya ko jita ke BJP ko lana hai iss baar (We have to ensure Pankaj Bhaiya’s victory so that the BJP can form the government in the state),” said 22-year-old college dropout Ravi while talking to The Sunday Guardian.
Singh, who seemed to centre his campaign on the development plank of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, told the crowd at Sector-18 and in Chauragaon in Sector-22, and later in Barola, that they should elect a national party to ensure all round progress. He cautioned them not to waste votes on those “who seek votes in the name of caste”, in a clear reference to caste based regional parties like the SP and the BSP, or on those “who use terrorism and separatism to strengthen their vote base”.
‘PM Modi in the centre and BJP in power in UP is the only way for progress’
“Jo ataankwaad aur algawaad ke naam pe vote lete hain ab unki nahi balki rashtravadiyon ki sarkar ko lana hai (Now a nationalist party will form the government in the state and not the ones that seek votes in the name of terrorism),” Singh said to a positive cheering by the crowd. He promised a corruption free and agenda driven government and asserted that PM Modi at the Centre and the BJP in power in UP is the only way for India’s largest state to reap multiple benefits in terms of reforms and development.
“Aapka Prime Minsiter (Narendra Modi), Aapka Vidhayak (Vimla Batham) aur aapka Mukh Mantri jab ek hi soch ke honge tab yeh Pradesh sirf aage hi badhega (When your Prime Minister, MLA and Chief Minister will be of the same ideology then the state can only expect progress and nothing else),” Pankaj Singh asserted.
The sentiment of the crowd appeared largely in favour of the BJP. From the party volunteers to the vendors at the pavement, all seemed eager to catch a glimpse of the Singh who is making his electoral debut after 15 long years in politics. Pankaj Singh, who is the BJP’s general secretary in UP, was fielded from Noida after BJP released a second list of candidates for 155 seats in the state on 22 January.
Singh kickstarted his campaign after filing his nomination on Tuesday. He was supported by Tourism Minister and Noida MP Mahesh Sharma.
A large number of people who had gathered to participate in Singh’s meetings were unanimous in their opinion that the constituency would be a “cakewalk” for him.
“Jab Mahesh Sharma ji aur Vimla Batham ji ka saath hai toh inhe kaun haryega (With Mahesh Sharma ji and Vimla Batham campaigning with him, no one can defeat him from Noida)?” said Satyaprakash, a tea shop vendor, while talking to this newspaper.
“Ab Rajnath ji ke bête hain aur itni vinamrata se vote maang rahe hain toh logo ka smarthan toh milega hi (He is Rajnath Singh’s son and asking for votes so humbly. People will support him),” said 55-year old Vidya Devi, who was listening to Singh’s speech from a distance.
From the dispute over his nomination from within the party to getting booked for an election violation (Singh parked his car within 100 metre of a poll centre), it was an eventful week for Pankaj Singh.