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Narendra Modi rally in Deoria where Rahul started 'khat sabha'

The rally will be held on Wednesday, polling on March 4

Narendra Modi
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Narendra Modi
Virendra Singh Rawat Lucknow
Last Updated : Feb 28 2017 | 7:28 PM IST
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi would address a public meeting in Deoria district on Wednesday where polling is scheduled on March 4.

About six months back, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had kicked off his 'khat sabha' meetings in the rural pockets of Uttar Pradesh in run up to the 2017 state election from Deoria.

Congress had brought in about 1500 'khats' (charpoys) for the much publicised event. Interestingly, these 'khats', to be used in similar gatherings going forward, were later taken away by villagers, much to the amusement of party leaders and the battery of local and national media persons.

'Khat sabha' concept was devised much before Congress had firmed up a pre-poll alliance with the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP). At that juncture, the party had decided to fight UP poll with the punch-line of '27 saal, UP behaal' to signify backwardness, ever since Congress was voted out of power.

Congress had hired poll strategist Prashant Kishor (PK) to devise its revival strategy in the crucial state of UP. Rahul spearheaded the month long 'khat sabha' yatra in the state with the first port of call in Deoria on September 6, 2016.

The party had targetted to expand its vote bank and include upper caste voters, apart from its traditional constituency of Dalits and Muslims. To attract Brahmins, the party had announced the candidature of former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit as its chief minister face in UP.

Nonetheless, Congress reframed its strategy in UP after opinion polls projected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to be the winner. Therefore, the party aligned with SP, which also proved to be a willing partner to beat anti-incumbency and power feud in the party.

Meanwhile, polling is due in 49 assembly segments across seven districts in eastern UP districts bordering Bihar in the sixth phase. These districts are Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Gorakhpur, Deoria, Azamgarh, Mau and Ballia.

Modi is also scheduled to address a rally in Maharajganj on Wednesday apart from Deoria.

Notable candidates in this phase include SP turncoats and now Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidates Ambika Chaudhary and Narad Rai, ministers Ram Govind Chaudhary and Durga Yadav, Surya Pratap Shahi, Shaqir Ali, Fateh Bahadur Singh etc. Besides, mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari is also contesting from Mau as a BSP candidate.

Gorakhpur is the parliamentary constituency of BJP leader Yogi Adityanath and he had over the past weeks campaigned profusely to build up momentum for his party nominees.

Meanwhile, the last phase of voting would be held on March 8 in 40 assembly constituencies across seven districts viz. Ghazipur, Varanasi, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Bhadohi, Sonbhadra and Jaunpur. The counting of votes is scheduled on March 11.

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First Published: Feb 28 2017 | 6:15 PM IST

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