‘Biggest washing machine is Congress. It washed away Kejriwal’s misdeeds… And what about Kejriwal… He wanted all in jail’: BJP MP R P N Singh

R P N Singh, the scion of the erstwhile royal family of Padrauna in eastern Uttar Pradesh, left the Congress to join the BJP in January 2022, a month ahead of the state Assembly polls. While in the Congress, he had held important ministerial positions, and after consecutive defeats in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls, had been made AICC in-charge of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

Ahead of the final phase of polling on June 1,Singh, who was nominated by the BJP to the Rajya Sabha from UP this year, spoke with The Indian Express on issues ranging from differences between the functioning of the BJP and the Congress, Opposition allegations against the BJP and PM Modi, to Modi’s roadmap for India. Excerpts:

It is evident that there is no Congress in UP. Whatever little was left was decimated in the Assembly elections. So there is actually no alliance. As far as the SP is concerned, it had managed just five seats when it had a tie-up with the BSP in 2019, which was seen as a formidable alliance. It couldn’t win more than 5 seats in 2014 either. Now, the SP and the BSP are fighting separately. So we believe the BJP is poised to win 80 out of 80 seats in UP.

I have travelled to various districts, especially in eastern UP. There is a groundswell of support for the BJP. The people are eager to give a third term to the PM because of the unparalleled things he has done for the country. If you look at UP today, the state stands out for the sheer scale of development in it. The BJP has a blueprint for governance and development, and UP is a shining example of how effective governance can actually transform people’s expectations, aspirations and quality of life.

I have been with the BJP for some time now. I have worked at the grassroots,