BJP's SP Baghel confident of retaining Agra constituency, says "2024 elections easy for BJP in UP"

Agra (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 27 : Union Minister in the current government Satyapal Baghel on Saturday said that the Lok Sabha elections will prove to be easy for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as it has no competition here.
With its rich historical background and heterogeneous electorate, the Agra constituency continues to be at the centre of attention in the race of the general elections. The constituency will go to polls on May 7 in the third phase of the elections.
Speaking to ANI, Baghel, who has been fielded by the BJP from the Agra parliamentary constituency, exuded confidence in winning the elections once again.
"I am not over-confident this time. In the 2019 elections, Samajwadi Party and Lok Dal fought in coalition and I had fear, but secured victory by over 2 lakh votes. This time, the Lok Dal is with us. I think the 2024 elections are very easy for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh," he said.
Taking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Baghel said that he had a wish to contest the elections against the Wayanad MP.
"Congress has nothing here. Rahul Gandhi cannot contest the election from Agra, otherwise, I had a wish to fight against him. I had contested against Akhilesh in the Lok Sabha elections and assembly too. No admirer or voter of Congress here," he added.
The main focus of Cabinet Minister in Modi's government, Baghel, is to retain the seat of Agra MP, and his focus is, as he said the growth and demands of the area, such as the Taj Mahal and the Yamuna barrage.
He also said that he is focusing on the unmet potential of rural tourism, which is mainly centred around the Taj Mahal.
"It's our double-engine government that Agra has developed so much. We have five assembly constituencies in the Agra Lok Sabha constituency and they all have different moods and needs, but first, I try to implement all the schemes of the Centre. I and the Chief Minister started winning the elections at the same time," he added.
Satyapal Baghel is the current Member of Parliament from Agra. He won the 2019 Agra by-election by a landslide margin of 211,546 votes and beat BSP's Manoj Kumar Soni.
The Samajwadi Party has named Suresh Chandra Kardam, a shoe salesman and ex-leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), as its candidate in the Agra Parliamentary Constituency reserved for Scheduled Castes.
Pooja Amrohi, the daughter of Satya Behen who is a veteran Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP has been pitted by the BSP as its candidate from the Lok Sabha elections.