“We have a special machine which we are using for building expressways and highways. At the same time, we are using it to crush the mafia who exploited people to build their properties,” he said, and repeated it in his subsequent speeches. He then asks the crowd, “Are you happy with the action on the mafia?” The crowd responds with a yes. Gradually, the bulldozer has become the poll mascot for the BJP.
Adityanath says the police attached and demolished illegal property worth Rs 1,848 cr in the state.
BJP leaders often mention Azam Khan, Mukhtar Ansari and Ateeq Ahmad in their speeches. All three are currently in jail. The state government has captured and demolished several illegal properties of the three leaders.
The BJP is presenting a bulldozer to drive home its achievements in developing infrastructure as well as improved law and order in the state.
On February 24, Adityanath was addressing a rally in Gosaiganj, Ayodhya, where the crowd in front of the stage was shouting the slogan, “UP ki majboori hai, bulldozer bahut zaroori hai” (bulldozer is a necessity for UP).
The next day, in Sultanpur, Adityanath was greeted with several bulldozers at the rally venue with ‘Baba Ka Bulldozer’ written on them.
On February 27, Union minister Anurag Thakur and BJP MP Tejashwi Surya did a roadshow in Gorakhpur rural constituency in favour of BJP candidate Vipin Singh. The first vehicle in the roadshow was again a bulldozer.
“The people of UP have accepted that the bulldozer freed them from exploitation and paved the way for overall development. It is the people who are bringing it,” Sanjay Mayukh, BJP’s in-charge of communication, told ET.
The Samajwadi Party says the BJP is just highlighting names to hide its misdeeds. “They are taking a few names to prove their point. It is just that they don’t have anything positive to talk about. The bulldozer has been used to crush the poor,” said senior SP leader Udaveer Singh.