New Delhi: As lists of candidates are being announced by political parties for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, one of the things that everyone has a question about is BJP not fielding any Muslim candidate. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and BJP member Yogi Adityanath recently gave a statement regarding this and said that candidates are camped by every party including BJP keeping two factors in mind, winnability and representation of every section of society.
In an interview with the Hindustan Times, when Adityanath was asked what about the representation of Muslims, he said that the fault was not of BJP and that they lacked faith in the party and its ideology.
“The BJP is not at fault. They lack faith in us and our ideology. When someone asks for a ticket, the party will consider,” Adityanath said.
“Every political party, including the BJP, fields candidates keeping in mind two things – winnability and representation to every section of the society,” he said when asked about BJP not fielding any Muslim candidate.
On being asked about the alliance with Rashtriya Lok Dal, the UP CM said that “one can never rule out possibilities” in politics and said that much will depend on the situation that would emerge.
When asked about the exit of Swami Prasad Maurya and other OBC leaders from the BJP, Adityanath said that everyone was free to take decisions for their own and decide to leave or stay.
“Those who incite riots and acquire government or public property under government protection don’t do [anything for] social justice. Are the candidates fielded by the SP, BSP and the Congress representative of social justice? Those who pursue the politics of principle enjoy a long innings. And the public teaches lessons to those who keep their vested interests above national interests,” he said.
Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh are scheduled to be held in seven phases starting from February 10. Counting of votes will be done on March 10.