Strange bedfellows are bound to fail: Satyapal

Satyapal Singh, a retired IPS officer and Union minister who is seeking a re-election from UP’s Baghpat parliamentary constituency as a BJP candidate, claims it is because of him that the father-son duo (RLD president Ajit Singh-Jayant Chaudhary) has been forced to change their respective constituencies. In an interview with Mukesh Ranjan of The Tribune, Singh exudes confidence of not only defeating Jayant, but of winning with a bigger margin than the last time, when he trumped Ajit Singh.

Unlike the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, this time you are in a direct fight with Jayant Chaudhary? What have you to say?

Whether it is a bipolar or multi-cornered contest, you have to fight for victory. The way the Modi dispensation at the Centre and the Yogi government in UP have performed, I am confident that my victory margin will be more than the last time, when Ajit Singh lost the election in a multi-cornered contest.

What are the major poll planks on which you are seeking vote from the electorate?

Certainly, the work done by the Union Government in the past five years and the strong administration of CM Yogi Adityanath have ensured safety and security of people. I am asking people to vote for the BJP for continued development of the county under a strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

How will the ‘mahagathbandhan’ of three formidable state forces — SP, BSP and RLD — impact the fortunes of BJP candidates in Uttar Pradesh?

It is sheer opportunism. Strange bedfellows have come together merely for survival. Leaders may need to struggle for survival, but people have no such compulsion. They are feeling cheated by their leaders, as all along they had been told that the SP and BSP were political rivals.

Young voters are seemingly drawn towards your rival Jayant Chaudhary while the elderly see him as a true heir of Chaudhary Charan Singh? How do you see this trend in your campaign trail?

If he (Jayant) is so popular among voters, why did he leave Mathura and come here? Why did father and son have to leave their respective constituencies from where they contested last time? It shows their level of confidence in the voter.

Does the Balakot air strike have any resonance among voters?

Such a strike had never happened in the past. People say they have finally got a government that has zero tolerance towards terrorism. People feel India needs a strong government, which can not only protect them from mindless violence but also ensure national pride.