BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday appealed to voters to vote for BJP candidate Rampati Ram Tripathi not only for the work done by BJP in the past but also for the security provided to the nation under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Speaking at an election rally here, Shah said, "You may vote for our candidate for the development work done in the past but you should also vote for him because, under the leadership Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country has become secured from terrorism."
The BJP president accused the UPA government of being soft on the issue of terrorism.
Shah said, "Rahul Gandhi's Guru Sam Pitroda said that attacks like Pulwama happen all the time, why were air strikes required? We said that if you want to appease terrorists, you do it but we would never forgive those who disrupt peace within our borders."
Shah spoke about the development initiatives of the BJP government and praised the former MP Kalraj Mishra for developing "Purvanchal corridor, fertilizers industry in Gorakhpur, research centre in Gorakhpur to fight against Japanese Influenza, Purvanchal expressway, and loan waiver of sugarcane farmers."
After Mishra left the Deoria seat and decided not to participate in the Lok Sabha Polls, the BJP decided to field Ramapati Ram Tripathi from Deoria against Binod Kumar Jaiswal of the BSP and Congress' Niyaz Ahmad Khan.
The remaining 59 seats would go to poll on May 19 in the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.