Prime Minister Narendra Modi presents cooking gas connection to a woman of Below Poverty Line (BPL) family during a launch of “Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana” in Ballia on Sunday. (Source: PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi presents cooking gas connection to a woman of Below Poverty Line (BPL) family during a launch of “Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana” in Ballia on Sunday. (Source: PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday claimed selecting Ballia district for the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), which promises free LPG connections to 5 crore BPL families in the next three years, was not aimed at political gains in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

But party insiders admit that the launching of this ambitious scheme may benefit the party in the run-up to the 2017 polls, particularly in the eastern region.

With only 41 members in the UP assembly at present, increasing the seats in the House is essential for the BJP to increase its numbers in the Rajya Sabha to push its important bills in the Parliament.

Of the 403 assembly segments, around 80 constituencies fall in eastern UP but the BJP has only a dozen seats there. Most of the others were won by the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the 2012 Assembly polls with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) coming in second.

In Ballia district, from where the scheme was launched, BJP has only one MLA while SP holds five seats.

Launching PMUY, Modi said that only eight per cent households in Ballia district have LPG penetrations, one of the lowest in UP. PM had also attacked previous governments for doing little for the poor in the state.

Under PMUY, the government aims to provide LPG connections to nearly 10,000 to 50,000 households in each Lok Sabha constituency across the country. The BJP holds 17 out of the 18 Lok Sabha constituencies in eastern UP — Azamgarh is held by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.

“As per the target, now at least 8,000 households in every assembly segment will get LPG connection under PMUY very soon. That means nearly 40,000 people (four members in each family—an average) in each assembly constituency will be benefitted from the scheme. These beneficiaries will be from poor, backward caste and Dalit sections of society. LPG connections will bring a change in their daily life. The launching of the scheme will definitely benefit the BJP in the next election in entire UP,” said a senior BJP leader from eastern UP who admitted that party was weak in eastern UP as compared to other political parties.

That leader, who was associated with preparations of the event, claimed that nearly 33 per cent households in UP have LPG connection and most of them are in urban areas. “As PMUY scheme will provide LPG connections to BPL in every district, it will strengthen faith also of the rural people in BJP. BJP presently trying to strengthen its base in rural areas,” said that leader.

The political significance of PMUY in eastern UP can be assessed also from other developments on Sunday. The BJP’s state president Keshav Prasad Maurya, MP from Phoolpur which does not fall in eastern UP, was given space on the stage and the PM in his address called Maurya a young leader who dedicated his life to the service of the society. Maurya belongs to the backward castes and PM’s remark came when Maurya’s appointment as state president had drawn criticism because of criminal cases lodged against him in the past. Eastern UP is dominated by backward castes, Dalits and Muslims.

The PM also tried to connect himself with locals by expressing his fondness for the land of Ballia because it was associated with ex-PM Chandra Shekhar, social reformer Jai Prakash Narain, Ram Manohar Lohia, Deen Dayal Upadhyay and freedom fighter Mangal Pandey.

The launching of the scheme was a show of strength for the BJP in the state as more than one lakh people were present in three pandals. Union Minister of State (independent charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, party national vice-president in-charge Om Mathur, state president Keshav Prasad Maurya, party state secretary and rally in-charge from BJP Dayashankar Singh had a road show in Ballia under the scorching sun to invite people to the event a few days earlier. People from Ghazipur, Ballia, Mau, Azamgarh, Deoria, Jaunpur, Gorakhpur and PM’s constituency Varanasi had come to attend the event.

Padma Shree awardee Malini Awasthi and BJP MP from Delhi Manoj Tiwari sang Bhojpuri songs at one of the pandals to keep the crowd seated till the arrival of PM.

In response to the PM’s visit, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday in Ballia targeted the Modi government and said that the Centre was going to provide LPG connections but beneficiaries will get money for refilling of LPG cylinders from the Samajwadi Pension Scheme of the state government. Akhilesh also highlighted the schemes his government has launched for growth and development of Eastern UP.

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