Lucknow: Seeking a third consecutive term for the BJP govt in Uttar Pradesh, Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday declared that the BJP would implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state after returning to power post the 2027 Assembly elections.Addressing more than 2,500 party workers at the BJP state working committee meeting at Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, Shah hailed the Yogi govt for improving law and order, dismantling organised crime networks and accelerating development. He said a renewed BJP mandate would enable the party to deliver on another key ideological commitment by bringing in the UCC.Shah’s praise for Yogi coincided with BJP national general secretary and UP in charge Vinod Tawde’s assertion that Yogi will be party’s face in the 2027 UP assembly elections. This also comes few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while responding to a female worker at Arvind Textiles who praised the state’s improved safety and job opportunities, said: “Beta, say thanks to Yogi Ji”. By repeatedly commending Yogi’s tough governance, improved law and order, crackdown on organised crime and development initiatives, Shah, experts said, sought to place the chief minister’s governance record at the centre of the BJP’s electoral narrative.Drawing parallels with the abrogation of Article 370 and the construction of the Ram temple, Shah said the BJP had consistently fulfilled its promises and would continue to do so. “When the BJP government returns to power, UCC will also be implemented in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.Projecting confidence ahead of the 2027 polls, Shah described the BJP as the “immovable feet of Angad” and asserted that the party would retain power in UP while remaining politically dominant at the national level for decades. He credited the party’s organisational strength and committed cadre for its electoral success and urged workers to focus on strengthening the organisation.Shah said that the party’s organisational strength and cadre base made it virtually unbeatable in UP. The home minister claimed that BJP’s rise in UP was rooted in organisational expansion after 2014. Recalling that the party had only 44 MLAs in the state at one point, he said BJP won 73 of the state’s 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and later secured 312 assembly seats in 2017 despite criticism over demonetisation.Predicting prolonged BJP dominance, Shah claimed that neither Congress nor SP would get an opportunity to return to power if they continued on their present course. “Based on the strength of BJP workers, I can say the BJP government will remain in Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre for the next 30 years,” he said, urging party workers to set aside grievances, if any, and focus on strengthening the organisation.Praising the Yogi govt, Shah claimed Uttar Pradesh had emerged as a model of governance with a sharp decline in organised crime and communal violence. He said improved law and order had helped attract investment proposals worth nearly Rs 50 lakh crore, with projects worth around Rs 15 lakh crore already being implemented on the ground.“There was a time when Uttar Pradesh had to organise investor summits in Delhi because of concerns over crime and law and order. Today, under the leadership of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, the state is successfully hosting investment summits within UP itself and attracting investments worth lakhs of crores of rupees. Improved law and order has driven investment, investment has generated employment, and employment has helped curb migration from the state. Uttar Pradesh now accounts for nearly 7% of India’s electronic component exports, while the state’s Defence Corridor alone has attracted investments of around Rs 35,000 crore,” Shah said.“Investment came because law and order improved. Investment creates jobs. This is a double-engine government,” Shah said, highlighting infrastructure projects such as expressways and the upcoming Noida International Airport at Jewar.Calling upon workers to take the government’s achievements to the people, Shah said Uttar Pradesh had outperformed previous SP and BSP govts in development and implementation of welfare schemes, positioning the BJP strongly for the 2027 electoral battle. “Even if the tenures of the SP and BSP governments are combined, the BJP govt has delivered nearly 200% more development work in the past 10 years than what was achieved during their regimes,” the home minister said.He said PM Narendra Modi had ensured that Uttar Pradesh received all possible support from the Centre, while CM Yogi Adityanath left no stone unturned in translating those initiatives into results on the ground. “Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the best-performing state in implementing flagship schemes of the Modi government,” he said.The Union minister also sharpened his attack on the opposition, targeting SP chief Akhilesh Yadav over the 1990 firing on kar sevaks in Ayodhya and accusing opposition parties of questioning election outcomes instead of accepting public verdicts. Shah said “today is Oct 30 and it marked the anniversary of the 1990 firing on Ram devotees during the Samajwadi Party govt’s tenure.”Kar sevaks were killed in the police firing and their last rites were not performed before their bodies were consigned to the Saryu river, he said, contrasting the SP government’s actions with those of the BJP. “Samajwadi Party was responsible for the firing on Ram devotees, whereas the BJP paved the way for the construction of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya,” he added.Targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, Shah mocked opposition attempts to challenge BJP’s electoral dominance.“Do something, otherwise Narendra Modi will become prime minister for a fourth term,” he said, asserting that BJP has managed to expand its footprint across the country, including Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Bihar and Delhi. Using a cricket analogy, he said parties that lose elections were “blaming the umpire after losing the match”.He further accused Congress of promoting “casteism, dynastic politics and corruption”, describing the grand old party as an obstacle that hindered the country’s progress.
