BJP prospects in UP

Atal Behari Vajpayee once said that the road to Delhi went through Lucknow. Narendra Modi also thinks on the same lines and is considering contesting from Varanasi as a second seat. That will brighten BJP prospects if he wins there. But it will not be a cakewalk. Modi plans to focus on development and fight so-called secularism as the key to vote bank politics. He is on the right track. UP’s performance on the development front has been dismal. Under Akhilesh Yadav, law and order in the state has gone downhill. There has been little improvement in the delivery of basic services. Modi is projecting a business-friendly face. Gujarat’s development score certainly boosts his stand. The young in UP are unemployed in large numbers. Modi promises them a bonanza of jobs to pull them out of misery.