UP won't elect those polarising people: farmers' leader Tikait

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh voters will only choose parties who talks about farmers welfare rather than those working on polarising people on the basis of religion, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said. Farmers are in troubled times in the state, and their produces are getting lesser value while they are forced to pay unreasonable electricity bills, PTI reported.

Tikait said on Friday that when the real issues are farmers, unemployed youth and inflation for the middle class, some are putting effort to polarise Hindu-Muslim voters with regular mention of Jinnah and Pakistan.

When he was asked whether he would campaign against BJP, Tikait said that he had no such plans. He is not a politician, stays away from political parties and only talks about farmers issues as well as urging people to question their leaders. He added that he would continue raising farmers' issues.

He also refused to predict who would win in UP. But he went on to say that farmers of the state are not happy with the current state of affairs. He thinks voters will keep that in mind at polling booths.

Further said that people should monitor district magistrates and the police while the votes were being counted because they might favour the government in power.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had slammed Samajwadi Party and called SP supporters worshippers of Jinnah. This was after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's comments on Pakistan and its founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

Later, Tikait said that he is still pursuing the Lakhimpur Kheri case. Amidst farmers' protest, an SUV had rammed into a crowd of protesting farmers in October last year, killing eight people, including four farmers. The chief accused Ashish Mishra, Union minister Ajay Mishra's son, is jailed at the moment.