Will industrialise Jaunpur so youth doesn't migrate, says BJP candidate

BJP candidate Kripashankar Singh says his priority on winning the election would be to set up industries in this parliamentary constituency so that people don't have to leave home to find jobs like he once did.

For this, I will use my "Mumbai contacts", said Singh, who moved to the city in 1971 and was once considered a strong leader of the Maharashtra Congress and also served as a former Minister of State for Home in the state.

"Jaunpur, with a population of about 4.6 million, is a district where most of the youth migrate to Mumbai and other cities every year in search of employment,' Singh told PTI.

"Every sixth North Indian in Mumbai is from Jaunpur district who has gone there for employment," Singh said.

Singh started his political career with the Maharashtra Congress in the 1970s. About four years ago, he resigned from the Congress party and joined the BJP.

He said Jaunpur produces potatoes in huge quantities and its people are hardworking, yet there are no sugar and potato processing units here.

It is also very important to have a sugar mill in Jaunpur. About 900 acres of government land are available on the highway in the Shahganj assembly segment of the district where industries can be set up, yet so far it hasn't happened. But now it will be used, Singh asserted.

Singh said he would use his "five-decade-old contacts" in Maharashtra, which has a thriving sugar industry, to set up potato and sugar processing units along with a sugar mill in Jaunpur.

"On December 1, 1971, at the age of 21, I had to leave my home and go to Mumbai to earn a livelihood... Who would know better than me the pain of leaving home for a job or business? My wish is that in the coming three to four years, no youth of Jaunpur should have to go outside for work," Singh said.

Within a month of winning the election, work will start on the issue of generating employment for the youth of Jaunpur, he said, adding "An action plan for this is being prepared by a team of experts."

Asked about his chances of victory in the elections, Singh said, "I was born in Jaunpur and I grew up here. This is my home and my family members live here. The debt I owe to the people and my family members here will be repaid with the help of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.'

He also said that the people of Jaunpur are very happy with the work done by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.

This is why the people of Jaunpur have made up their minds to make Narendra Modi the prime minister for the third time and ensure that the BJP-led NDA gets more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha.

Polling in Jaunpur will be held in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 25.

Singh is pitted against Babu Singh Kushwaha of the Samajwadi Party. Outgoing MP and Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Shyam Singh Yadav is also in the poll fray.

Singh further said the erratic electricity supply in Jaunpur needs to be fixed and considering the population of the district, it requires a medical institute like the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

Serious patients in the district and nearby areas have to go to either Varanasi or Lucknow for treatment. But we will make sure that the district gets a premier institute like the AIIMS and for this, our team has started the paperwork, Singh said.

"If I get the blessings of the people, the work on AIIMS will start here after a month," Singh said.