A to W: Five reasons Yogi Adityanath has led BJP to sweeping victory in UP Nikay Chunav

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in electorally significant Uttar Pradesh seems all poised to extend and better its record in the local body elections over 2017 as trends indicated. While the counting is underway, the BJP led by saffron-clad Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is set to expand its dominance of the state politics, routing the main challenger Samajwadi Party (SP) while thoroughly trouncing the also-ran BSP and a Congress on ventilator in Uttar Pradesh. As I write, the BJP is leading in all 17 of 17 municipal corporations in the UP local body elections 2023, while the saffron fold was decisively ahead 88 of 199 municipal councils and had either won or taken lead in 167 of 544 nagar panchayats. In essence, the results are not surprising. The BJP and Yogi Adityanath were poised for this sweep for the following five reasons: 1. The A Factor: Atiq seems to have been the dominant factor behind the not just repeat performance, but an expansion of BJP’s footprints in the state. Mafia-don and land-grabber Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf were recently gunned down amid heavy police bandobast in Prayagraj. While there is nothing to suggest any government-involvement in the shooting, the Opposition had presented it as a failure of UP’s law and order, citing that the two were shot dead in police custody. The Opposition, actually, did not help its beleaguered situation by pointing fingers at the BJP government. The move has proved counterproductive since the Opposition’s repeated citing of ‘mitti me mila denge’ statement by CM Yogi Adityanath, made in the aftermath of the broad daylight murder of Umesh Pal in which Atiq’s son was allegedly involved, seems to have further bolstered the chief minister’s tough image. The Opposition created a perception that helped the BJP. Understandably, the Opposition, especially the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, wanted to sling mud on the chief minister to paint him in an anti-Muslim light, the polarised polity of Uttar Pradesh seems to have given the dividends to the BJP than to SP. 2. The U/A Factor: Umesh Pal was murdered in a daredevil attack in broad daylight in Prayagraj’s Dhoomanganj area, in which Atiq’s son Asad was the lead shooter. The swift way in which the UP Police acted in the aftermath that was nothing short of a direct gauntlet thrown to the BJP government gained a lot of accolades for Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Fugitive Asad was slain in a shootout with UP Police. In all six of the 10 people named in the Umesh Pal murder FIR have been killed. 3. The M Factor: Given what happened with Atiq and his brother Ashraf, who were gunned down by three assailants posing as mediapersons, the Alahabad High Court passed an order directing the UP Police to ensure strongman Mukhtar Ansari’s security. The court explicitly said that it was passing the direction in view of what happened to the Ahmad brothers on live TV in Prayagraj. This translated into a public narrative of Ansari too fearing for his life, stoking widespread vicarious public glee seeing such strongmen ostensibly shaking in fear. 4. The Y Factor: Yogi Adityanath has emerged as an icon of sorts among the youth of Uttar Pradesh, given the chief minister’s image of a stern task master. The chief minister has appealed to the youth of the state owing to his recent push to policies that will provide fillip to the employment scenario in the state. Yogi Adityanath recently told companies investing UP to focus on skilling the youth of the state to generate employment. Also, a promise of fast economic turnaround of the state’s economy given the investors’ summit etc has established the chief minister firmly in the imagination of the youth. 5. The W Factor: The turnaround in the law and order situation of the state, along with its effect on the most vulnerable sections such as women, has been one of the most significant factors to have made Yogi Adityanath a favourite. In March this year, in a written reply, the UP chief minister said that between March 15, 2020, and December 2022, 69,057 cases of crime against women were registered. He said stringent action had been taken against criminals, including confiscation of property under the Gangster Act, Goonda Act and Section 14(1) of the Gangster Act. The Safe City project too has gained him a lot of popularity and support among women. Elections for 199 nagar palika parishads, 544 nagar panchayats, and 17 municipal corporations were held in two phases on May 4 and May 11, respectively. According to the Election Commission of India, out of the 4.32 crore eligible voters, nearly 52% had exercised their franchise in the first phase, while 53% in the second phase. It must be underlined that this trend indicated that the ruling BJP government under Yogi Adityanath have remained UP’s favourites. Since these are grass-roots elections—they are quite high-profile in UP—the result is a direct reflection of the mindset of the people and their political preference. Also, it indicates the mood of the people and one must not forget that these are fought tooth and nail given the question of tehsil and mofussil-level dominance involved, which ultimately translates into booth-level performance and support for parties. Read all the Latest News, Trending News,  Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.