Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday announced that the BJP would implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttar Pradesh if the party returns to power in the state for a third consecutive term, months ahead of the Assembly elections.

Addressing the BJP's State Working Committee meeting in Lucknow, Shah said several states had already implemented the UCC and asserted that Uttar Pradesh would follow suit if voters gave the BJP another mandate.

“This time, when the government comes to power, UCC will be implemented in Uttar Pradesh. UCC has already been implemented in many states. If you form the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, we will implement UCC in Uttar Pradesh,” Shah told party colleagues. 

Shah also countered the Opposition amid the ongoing allegations and protest over vote theft, saying the BJP was ready to discuss the matter in Parliament. Slamming the opposition for blaming the umpire after losing the match, he challenged them to convene a special session to debate the issue.

Amit Shah Recounts BJP's Electoral Journey In UP

At the meeting, Shah also invoked the BJP's electoral performance in Uttar Pradesh and urged party workers to prepare for the upcoming Assembly polls.

Recounting the party's electoral journey, Shah said the BJP had only 44 MLAs in 2014 and that he had travelled down to the tehsil level to strengthen the organisation. “Once the organisation was set right, in 2014 we won 73 seats in UP with 41 per cent of the vote,” he said.

Referring to the 2017 Assembly elections, Shah said demonetisation had taken place before the polls and claimed that then Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had been unable to sleep through the night.

“In 2017, demonetisation had happened, so Akhilesh could not sleep all night. We won 312 seats with 40 per cent of the vote,” he said.

BJP's State Working Committee Meeting In Lucknow

Shah kicked off the proceedings of the BJP's Uttar Pradesh State Working Committee meeting, held months before the state Assembly elections. The meeting was chaired by state BJP president and Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, and several senior party leaders attended the meeting at an auditorium of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University.

Other prominent attendees included BJP state in-charge and national general secretary Vinod Tawde and national general secretary Smriti Irani. BJP MLC and former state general secretary Govind Narayan Shukla conducted the proceedings.

Shah arrived in Lucknow amid a slight drizzle and was welcomed at the airport by Adityanath, Chaudhary and other party leaders. At the venue, he lit a ceremonial lamp and paid floral tributes to portraits of Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Deendayal Upadhyaya, as slogans of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' echoed through the auditorium.