UP BJP sets its eyes on winning 17 municipal corporations ahead of 2024 LS polls

The BJP has kicked off its preparations to win 17 municipal corporations in Uttar Pradesh and establish a "city government" in the state before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"Yogi Adityanath launched an array of development projects in the 17 cities, including a project worth totalling Rs 1459 crore in Bareilly, Rs 1295 crore in Prayagraj, Rs 1057 crore in Ayodhya, Rs 950 crore in Gorakhpur, Rs 878 crore in Ghaziabad, Rs 822.43 crore in Mathura-Vrindavan, Rs 517 crore in Meerut, Rs 488 crore in Agra, Rs 424 crore in Moradabad, Rs 388 crores in Kanpur, Rs 328 crores in Jhansi, Rs 308.18 crores in Shahjahanpur, Rs 269 crores in Firozabad, Rs 145 crores in Saharanpur, and worth Rs 86.55 crores in Aligarh by organising Prabuddhajan Sammelans," a statement from the BJP read.

The Municipal Corporation had 16 seats the last time, out of which the BJP bagged 14, while the Bahujan Samaj Party had won the Aligarh and Meerut Municipal Corporation seats. Besides, this time voting will be held for the first time in Shahjahanpur.

The party is confident about its victory on all 17 seats because of the developmental works carried out under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, according to a report in ANI.

As per an official release, in the last six years, Yogi Adityanath's entire focus was on providing housing to the needy. Along with this, adequate attention was also paid to toilets and cleanliness.

"As many as 17.62 lakh houses were constructed under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) in the state. Under the Pradhan Mantri SVANidhi Yojana, a loan of Rs 1190 crore was made available to 10,33,132 street vendors," it read.

UP has become free from open defecation in six years. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), more than two crore toilets have been constructed in the state so far benefiting more than 10 crore citizens residing in urban areas.

In addition, 8,99,634 individual and 69,381 community-public toilets have been constructed in urban areas. Furthermore, 327 tonnes of plastic was seized and a fine of Rs 16.47 crore was imposed on defaulters in the last six years to keep the cities clean.