Union Home Minister Amit Shah identified four key factors for the BJP’s impending decisive victory in Uttar Pradesh. These are law and order, gareeb kalyan (welfare of poor), development, and improved administration. In fact, all the four are various parameters of development. Law and order and better administration are needed for development but which has no meaning unless the poor feel empowered.
I met some families in Noida and Greater Noida after they had voted. Even when they were not die-hard supporters of the BJP, they voted for the party. They argued that not voting for the BJP would mean chaos. Various developmental projects such as the Jewar airport, Film City and Sports City would suffer. I found they had developed a stake in continuation of the government. This is going to happen with most voters who at the last minute would press the Lotus button in the booth.
Due to better law and order situation, rapid development initiatives and massive investment, real estate prices have spiralled upwards in the state, despite a drop during COVID times. People doing business appear to be happy because the fear of goondas is no longer there. You file a complaint and the police would act.
While Greater Noida and Noida have become the fulcrum of economic might of Uttar Pradesh, the situation has improved in other places too. Bundelkhand used to be the proverbial symbol of underdevelopment. Two radial roads, Bundelkhand Expressway and Ganga Expressway, are changing the narrative. Industrial corridor and other development projects along the expressways would provide jobs to the locals and help bring prosperity. Better linkages are changing the mindset and real estate prices are rising.
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Better and trustworthy connectivity is the visible hallmark of development in the state. The Purvanchal Expressway that goes from Lucknow to Ghazipur bordering Bihar and gets linked to National Highway 31 as one enters Bihar is a delight for the motorists. But as you cross the border to enter Bihar, you see the change, and it may take 7-8 hours to reach Patna. I had a chat with Bihar road transport minister and came to know they are also going to build a strong expressway network from Patna to Uttar Pradesh. This would reduce travel time from Patna to Delhi to less than 13 hours. Constructed at a cost of Rs 22,500 crore, the Purvanchal Expressway has air strips for Air Force planes to land. This shows the vision of the Modi government to work on defence preparedness in times of need.
Similarly, other road linkages have also helped changed the landscape of the state. These roads have become a springboard for the state’s aspiration of becoming a major driver of the country’s economy. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has already set the target for the state to contribute $1 trillion to make India a $5-trillion economy.
The other major indicator of development that is visible to the common man is a good transport system. Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Lucknow and Kanpur already have metro trains. Soon there will be metro trains for cities like Agra, Meerut, Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Jhansi and Bareilly. Various cities have already started witnessing better modern amenities befitting city life.
But these developments have not come at the cost of villages or smaller district towns. The Yogi government has constructed more than 15,000 km of roads to connect rural areas. Now tehsil and block headquarters are connected by two-lane metalled roads, making movement of people and goods and services easier. More than 1,500 revenue villages that were neglected for the last 70 years are being connected with all-weather roads.
The third major parameter and sine qua non of development is trustworthy law and order situation where an average person feels safe and can do business. Education of girl child, tourism, investment etc. are all linked to this. If law of the jungle prevails, people would run way. Ask anyone and they would tell you that reining in the goonda elements would be the biggest achievement of the Yogi government. If you lodge a complaint, the police would act to keep their records clean. The fact that more than 30,000 women have been recruited in police force speaks volume for the state’s efforts to earn trust of the women population through gender sensitisation.
Noted criminals who were dreaded and used to decide who would get government tenders are behind bars. Property earned from ill-gotten means has been seized by the state. Official records show that more than 139 criminals have been killed in encounter since 2017. More than 13,700 cases have been registered under the Gangster Act and more than 43,000 people have been arrested under that. Property worth more than Rs 1500 crore has been confiscated by the state.
The Yogi government under the benevolent eyes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has burnt the midnight oil to provide succour to the poor and the needy. All schemes meant for the poor have reached the beneficiaries without fail. More than 43 lakh homeless people were provided housing under PM Awas Yojana in the last four and a half years. Poor people have been getting free ration under the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. Yogi has extended the benefits till Holi (March). More than 15 crore people in the state will get benefits under the scheme with few more items added to the free ration scheme.
The party’s manifesto called Sankalp Patra has already promised free power to farmers for irrigation. It has further promised at least one job or employment per family, 2 crore smart phones and tablets to students, doubling of MBBS seats and recruitment of 6,000 doctors and 10,000 para-medical staff, gym and sporting ground in every panchayat and upgradation of sports infrastructure in government schools and colleges.
These promises matter because people trust the government for development delivery. It has fulfilled more than 90 per cent of the promises it made in its manifesto in 2017. Amit Shah’s confidence regarding a BJP landslide is based on the stake people have developed in continuation of this Yogi government. Yogi in the saddle under the benevolent guidance and development vision of Modi is the best the state can strive for.
The author is a national panel spokesperson of BJP and an author. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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