Amid the showering of marigold petals from rooftops and cheers of “Jai Shri Ram” by supporters, Varun Gandhi, the national secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has pushed the acceleration pedal in Uttar Pradesh (UP) to revive the party in the state.

Walking through the meandering lanes of UP’s villages, Varun, dressed in a spotless white churidar-kurta, is trying to create a roadmap to play a bigger role in state politics. This was his fourth rally in UP and he is planning 15 more. The next rally is scheduled in Aligarh on June 2.

Squarely blaming the Mayawati government for being insensitive towards the needs of people and rampant corruption, Varun promised to bring “Ram Rajya” in the state if his party won the elections.

“How long will the people of UP tolerate the Mayawati government? She is facing corruption charges herself. Do you think she will try to protect you? It is time that people of this state start getting ‘uttar’ (answer) for their questions and the state truly becomes ‘Uttam Pradesh’,” said Varun, while addressing a huge gathering of supporters in Sujanganj, a village near Allahabad.
His listeners had travelled several miles in extreme heat to get a glimpse of their leader.

Hoping to further consolidate his popularity among the younger generation in the state, Varun promised the villagers that if the BJP is able to form the government, each youngster would get an interest-free loan of Rs10 lakh to start his or her own business.

“Everyone talks about the youth these days, but no one really does anything for them. If the BJP is able to form the government, we will start a new scheme and would give interest-free loans of Rs10 lakh to youngsters,” said Varun as the crowd stood up and shouted his name in appreciation.

Click here to see pictures from the Rally