SP's cycle is BJP's lucky charm
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Lucknow: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now preparing to steal the 'cycle' from the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh.
No, the party will not take away the SP election symbol (the cycle). Rather it plans to extensively use cycles and motorcycles for its campaign during the Panchayat elections, scheduled early next year. Bikes will also be used during the campaign for Telangana municipal elections that are due soon.
According to BJP sources, the party had purchased motorbikes in large numbers for campaigning in the 2017 Assembly and then the 2019 general elections.
"The bikes have become the BJP's lucky charm. Wherever we have used them, the party has won overwhelmingly," said a BJP leader.
The party will be using the cycles and motorcycles in the Panchayat elections mainly because it will make campaigning easier. In the rural areas, it is easier to commute on two wheelers than in SUVs.
The BJP leader said the party high command had asked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to send the bikes to Telangana for the municipal polls. The vehicles will be returned in time for the Panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh.
"A campaign on cycles connects better with the common man. A man on a cycle has an instant connect with the poor and down-trodden. Someone who comes in an SUV is looked upon by the poor, but they cannot build a bond with him," the leader explained.
The Samajwadi Party has, for many years now, heavily promoted its election symbol. The previous Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh constructed over 100km of cycling track in Lucknow and Noida for the purpose. However, except for special occasions, the SP leaders move around in swanky SUVs.