Noida: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath will address a rally in Bisada village on Sunday. Sources said Bisada has been selected for the programme with an aim to consolidate around 1.5 lakh Thakur votes spread across Satha-Chaurasi neighbouring villages that fall in three parliamentary constituencies — Noida, Ghaziabad and Bulandshahr.Bisada village in Greater Noida’s Dadri region became infamous after 55-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq was lynched by a mob in September 2015 over suspicion of cow slaughter.BJP’s Gautam Budh Nagar Lok Sabha in-charge Satish Sharma said on Friday that Union home minister Rajnath Singh’s rally is also scheduled in Jewar in April. The move is significant as the BJP has fielded a Brahmin candidate, while the Congress has put up a Thakur candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.“We are inviting senior party leaders to campaign in the district. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj recently visited Noida. Adityanath will address a rally on Sunday. We have also invited the home minister in the first week of April. Noida MP Mahesh Sharma has brought several development projects to the district,” he added.Though the CM’s visit in Bisada is considered to target a particular vote bank, Sharma said, “BJP believes in nationalism, not in casteism”. “People from all caste and community are with us,” Sharma said.However, the opposition parties were quick to term the CM’s scheduled visit to Bisada as a deliberate move to influence certain voters. “BJP has not done any significant development work that can be projected to seek votes in this election. So, they want to divide the society and consolidate votes,” said Lakhmi Singh, district BSP chief.“But we are confident that the CM’s visit will not make a dent in our vote bank. We have a solid vote bank and we are connecting with people accordingly,” he added.Meanwhile, the local Muslims in Bisada said they continue to have a sense of alienation with their neighbours. “We have not received information about the CM’s programme yet. Some political parties and candidates have started their campaigns. But we feel that the gap created four years ago is yet to be bridged,” said a local Muslim youth.Akhlaq’s son Danish, who was also thrashed by the mob in September 2015 in Bisada but survived the attack, however, said, “We have shifted to Delhi. Even after three-and-a-half years, the trial has not begun. We have no plans to return to Bisada.”

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