Yogi's 2019 poll gamble: Rs 250 cr for cow shelters, cess on foreign liquor

Ruling BJP goes on course correction path to pre-empt backlash in rural constituencies, as stray cattle population surges following slaughter ban

A liberal Budget of more than Rs 600 crore and a special cess on foreign liquor helped the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to speedily tame the ‘stray cattle menace’ in Uttar Pradesh before it magnified the farm distress narrative in the crucial election season.

At present, there are about 6,000 public and private cow shelters in the state, housing more than 400,000 cattle heads, while more shelters have been proposed.

In the run-up to polls, when the Opposition was targetting the Yogi Adityanath government over farm distress and damage to cash crops by abandoned cattle, the saffron party had