UPDATED: April 26, 2021 00:36 IST
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at a book release event on March 19 (Maneesh Agnihotri)
Even as the stalemate over the new farm laws drags on, and neither the Centre nor the agitating farmers showing signs of relenting, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has begun to make conciliatory gestures. With the assembly election due in less than a year, the interventions may prove to be timely. A week-long ‘Gram Chaupal’ campaign, which got under way on March 11, entrusts BJP leaders in the state, including all ministers in the Yogi government, with the responsibility of reaching out to the 58,194 gram sabhas in the state, and publicising the farmer-friendly decisions of the state government. Launching the programme from the Gangaganj area of Lucknow, Swatantra Dev Singh, president of the BJP state unit and the person in charge of the campaign, held meetings in a dozen districts, including Sitapur, Sultanpur, Jaunpur, Ghazip