BJP President Amit Shah today named Samajwadi Party as its main rival in the next year's assembly election in Uttar Pradesh even as he exuded confidence that his party will form the government in the key state.
Shah also rejected the contention that the party was on a sticky wicket in Gujarat following the violent Patidar quota agitation, claiming that it will win a two thirds majority in the state, where polls are due next year end.
He dismissed reports that the BJP brass was mulling over removing Chief Minister Anandiben Patel and said the party had not discussed the issue.
In an interaction with journalists, he said it had not been decided yet whether to name a chief ministerial candidate for UP, a tactic it successfully deployed in Assam, saying all states are different.
"It is certain that BJP will get a majority in UP," he said, adding the party had a strong base in the state where it won 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2014.
His strong expectation from UP was not linked to the party's win in Assam, Shah said, adding the key Hindi heartland state was "easy" even before the polls in the northeastern state.
Asked about the party's election agenda for Uttar Pradesh, Shah said development would be the top priority as the entire state was in a "mess" from "top to bottom" under Samajwadi Party's "misrule".
Shah said he considered SP as the BJP's main adversary because of its larger support base than Mayawati's BSP. The saffron outfit has been trying to wean away Dalit votes from Mayawati-led BSP.
To a query whether he was under pressure to deliver UP to the party, he said "There is always pressure for me".
Asked about Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's plan to contest the UP polls, he said if Nitish factor worked, it would only benefit BJP. He was apparently referring to the split of secular votes the presence of Kumar's JD(U) in the electoral fray could cause.
Shah, who led party to victory in several states but under whom BJP suffered massive losses in Delhi and Bihar, also rejected the contention that it was at a disadvantage in Uttarakhand following its failed bid to topple the Harish Rawat government.
"There is a massive anti-incumbency wave in the state. We will come to power whenever polls are held," he asserted.
The hill state will go to the polls with UP next year.
Asked about the likely reshuffle in the Union Council of Ministers, he said it would happen whenever it has to.
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Shah later announced that the BJP National Executive will meet on January 7-8 in Delhi and called on party workers to ensure that maximum number of people watches External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's address to the United Nation General Assembly (UNGA) tomorrow evening.
An accomplished orator, she is expected to hit back at Pakistan after its Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif targeted India over the Kashmir unrest and deflected blame for the Uri terror attack.
In his address, Shah targeted the UPA government saying it was known for its numbers of scams running into over Rs 12 lakh crore and claimed that even opposition has not been able to accuse the Modi government of any corruption.
He cited a number of schemes, like Mudra, Jan Dhan, Ujjawala and Crop Insurance, of the central government to project its pro-farmers and pro-poor credentials.
Referring to BJP's growth, Shah said it had grown from 11 workers to become a party of more than 11 crore people and has more than 1,000 MLAs, 325 MPs in its ranks.
He also touched on his decision in 2014 to work for expanding BJP in seven states where it has been traditionally weak.
Out of these seven states, the party has formed government in Assam and fetched 15 per cent and 10 per cent votes in Kerala and West Bengal assembly polls respectively, he said to the applause of over 1,700 delegates present in the meeting.
BJP governments are in states having 50 per cent of the country's area and 42 per cent population.
When Upadhyay spoke about 'antyodaya', few people in the party thought that it would get a chance to execute the concept and now it is in power in 13 states, he said.
Modi later unveiled a bust of the party leader.
"BJP and its government pledge to observe the centenary birth year of Upadhyay as the garib kalyan (poor's welfare) year," the party chief said.
He also touched on the upcoming assembly elections in several states, including high profile Uttar Pradesh polls, and claimed that the situation in the largest Indian state is a matter of concern due to its poor law and order.
With the protection of the state government and ruling Samajwadi Party, land grabbers have a field day and women are feeling insecure.
"Besides Uttar Pradesh, BJP is ready in the battlefield to form government in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur," he said.
