NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
"Uttar Pradesh is important and all MPs from the state should take the polls seriously and do proper groundwork. The election outcome will have its fallout at the Centre," he told a meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party Parliamentary Party in Delhi, its spokesman V K Malhotra told reporters.
The prime minister's remarks indicate the significance attached by the BJP leadership to the UP assembly elections especially in the context of main rivals Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party already preparing for the polls.
Vajpayee said the Opposition, which had raised issues like the crisis at Unit Trust of India, 'saffronisation' of education and the Ram temple at Ayodhya, 'fell flat' as they were divided.
At the beginning of the monsoon session, the Opposition parties gave the impression of being on the verge of cornering the government. However, as the session progressed, they ran out of issues, the prime minister is reported to have told the gathering.
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