BJP Will Get More LS Seats in UP Now Than in 2014: Shah

New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday asserted that the BJP will get more seats in Uttar Pradesh this Lok Sabha elections than in 2014 and that the people will teach a lesson to all dynastic parties. He also said the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) remains an agenda of the BJP as it believes that a secular country should have one law for all people.

“In Uttar Pradesh, we will get more seats this time than in 2014,” he said at an event organized by a media house here.

In 2014, the BJP won 71 seats in Uttar Pradesh, out of the total 80, while its ally Apna Dal got two seats. In 2019, the BJP got 62 seats and its ally won two. Asked about the ongoing talks between the BJP and Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) for an alliance, he said his party president J P Nadda will take a final decision on it. “We have not taken a decision yet. Our party president will decide.

But it is certain that we will make massive gains in Odisha,” he said, adding, “If we decide to fight alone, we will fight to form the government in Odisha.”

Assembly elections in Odisha will be held together with the Lok Sabha polls.

On the possibility of an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab, he said it will be clear in next two to three days. "Negotiations are on. We want all NDA parties to come together."

On Bihar, Mr Shah said that this is for the first time, the BJP is going to fight the Lok Sabha polls as the "big brother" with more seats than its allies.

In Bihar, as per the NDA seat-sharing arrangements, the BJP is going to contest 17 seats, out of the total 40, JD-U 16 seats, the Chirag Paswan-led LJP (Ram Vilas) five seats, and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) one seat each.

Making it clear that the BJP will get more than 25 seats out of the total 42 in West Bengal, the home minister said the party will also get more number of seats in southern states, Punjab and other areas.

Asked when the assembly elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir, he said the Supreme Court has already given a deadline of September-end and the polls will be held before that. "September-end deadline is the outer limit."

Asked about the UCC implementation, Mr Shah said it is a long-standing issue which the party cannot abandon.

"The UCC is our issue since 1950. Our party has agitated for this. We cannot move away from this. We believe that in a secular country, there should be just one law for all. UCC is BJP's promise to the people of the country," he said.

The BJP-ruled Uttarakhand last month enacted a law for implementation of the UCC to ensure uniform rules for personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and property rights for all citizens irrespective of faith. Other BJP-ruled states are expected to bring similar laws.

He also slammed the opposition parties for allegedly spreading misconception about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, for which rules were issued recently for the implementation of the law.

"To create a vote bank, the opposition has been spreading the misconception that the CAA will take away the citizenship of the country's minorities. But CAA will not take away anyone's citizenship, only refugees belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Parsi communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh will be given citizenship.”

"Muslims of this country need not be afraid. CAA is not a law to snatch citizenship, it is a law to give citizenship," he said.

Asked about the issue of electoral bonds, he dismissed the suggestion that the BJP was its major beneficiaries and said after its scrapping there is a possibility of the return of black money in election funding.

"There is an allegation that we have received a lot of donations.

This is completely false. We have got Rs 6,200 crore, whereas 'Indi Alliance' led by Rahul Gandhi has received more than Rs 6,200 crore.

While we have 303 seats, we have governments in 17 states, how many seats do the 'Indi Alliance' have?" he asked.

"It is my personal opinion that black money will return after abolition of electoral bonds. That is why Congress is against electoral bonds," he said.

Mr Shah said after Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014, swift actions have been taken against black money.

Refuting the allegations that the Enforcement Directorate has been targeting politicians, he said out of all the properties attached by the ED, only five per cent belong to people associated with political parties while the rest have nothing to do with politics. The home minister further said although properties that have been confiscated of people associated with political parties are also black money, political parties wanted that no action should be taken against them.

"Rs 51 crore was recovered from the house of a minister in West Bengal. Rs 355 crore was recovered from the house of a Congress MP and they say that no action should be taken. Trucks were brought in to transport the bundles of notes.

"Can Rahul Gandhi tell the people of the country where this money was going? They should answer this. Whoever indulges in corruption will face strict action and will go to jail," he said.

The home minister said whenever an election approaches, the opposition parties start abusing and attacking Modi more and more. But since 2001, it has been proved that the more they abuse him, the more strongly and beautifully the "lotus blooms".

"This time also, the same will happen. This time also, Modi will emerge victorious. Modi has blessings of crores of people," he said.