Exactly four years since the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, the big political story of the state has not been Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, but the opposition, for its shocking inability to get its act together and resurrect itself even to a minimal measure.
It was on 11 February in 2017 that polling for the UP election began. And in the verdict on 11 March, it became clear that the opposition parties stood decimated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registering a massive win, grabbing 312 of the state’s 403 assembly seats.
Four years since, and with a year to go for the next assembly election in Uttar Pradesh, all the opposition parties — Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP), Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s Congress, and even Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) — have remained exactly where they were, unable to take even one step forward. They look directionless, uninspiring and lacking in imagination, despite getting four years to recover from the setback.
Yogi Adityanath, with his shaky governance record, gave his rivals enough chances to corner him and his government, and use that to rebuild themselves. His opponents, however, chose to dodge all opportunities and drift away into deeper political wilderness. This, despite the fact that players like Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati head deeply entrenched regional parties with a strong cadre presence and have had multiple stints in power.
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The Yogi years
Yogi Adityanath was a surprise pick as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. There is little denying that the BJP’s 2017 win was entirely a mandate for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and it was up to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP high-command to pick a CM. With such a resounding mandate, Adityanath had a clean slate to fill with what could have been a stellar governance record — something the BJP under Narendra Modi claims to stand for.
The UP CM, however, was (and perhaps still shows signs of being) a novice in matters of administration and governance. What he ended up unleashing was a rule of intolerance, high-handedness and poor law enforcement. Adityanath’s first few years as CM, in fact, were particularly questionable, with no significant achievement to boast of.
In BJP’s playbook, Adityanath’s biggest achievement, perhaps, has been bringing in the anti-conversion law, which helps further the Right-wing ecosystem’s cause of keeping in check what they refer to as ‘love jihad‘. The anti-cow slaughter law is yet another example of the UP CM’s ‘achievement’. These, in fact, as ThePrint’s political editor D.K. Singh rightly argued, make Yogi a role model for other BJP CMs.
With his saffron rob and aggressively divisive language, Yogi Adityanath is possibly the BJP’s dream CM, but with one key ingredient missing — vikas.
In the larger sense, there is little Yogi Adityanath has to show for himself. He has no big ticket infrastructure project or tangible creation to his credit so far, unlike both his predecessors Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav, who built expressways and massive parks. The sky-touching Ram temple in Ayodhya, of course, will be the BJP’s big legacy, but perhaps more as a plus point for Narendra Modi-Amit Shah than Adityanath.
The BJP government in UP has also been under the scanner for its unimpressive law enforcement track record, particularly in the area of women’s safety. As a politician, Adityanath’s record has been chequered too. He may have emerged as a star campaigner for his party across states but barely manages to strike a connection that can translate into electoral benefits outside of UP. All in all, Yogi Adityanath hasn’t been the toughest opponent, and yet, the opposition in UP has looked overwhelmed, underprepared and lost at each juncture.
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The big disappointment — the opposition
The big political story in Uttar Pradesh from 2017 onward hasn’t been the success or failure of Yogi Adityanath, or the debate surrounding his rule. It is the complete ineptness of Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav and the Gandhis to put up even a semblance of a fight or show any effort to revive their declining electoral fortunes.
A ruling CM, a former CM, the then president of the Congress party and a prominent Jat leader — all failed miserably in front of Modi’s popularity and Amit Shah’s election management. Since then, however, they have all slipped further into oblivion. Forging alliances and breaking them off (Congress-SP, SP-BSP), speaking up on issues that are low hanging fruits, politically, like the Hathras gangrape and murder, but remaining silent on tricky subjects like the Babri Masjid judgment. Making their presence felt erratically and underwhelmingly, the opposition leaders in UP have betrayed their lack of direction and grit and seem to have already given up trying to secure first place in the race.
Akhilesh Yadav has been silent and off the radar, Mayawati has seemed more baffled than in-control, and Rahul along with sister Priyanka, whose formal entry into politics as the Congress in-charge of eastern UP was seen as a game-changer, have remained as ineffective as ever. Ajit Singh, meanwhile, seems to have been missing in action, even in the ongoing farmers’ protests, except for a statement here and there.
There have been rays of hope for the opposition, like Yogi Adityanath’s crucial bypoll losses. But these seem more like passing phases than any substantive and enduring interventions.
Yogi Adityanath may be the most visible and newsy political narrative from Uttar Pradesh since 2017, but it is the opposition and its inability that has been the real story. The 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls will be as much a referendum on Mayawati-Akhilesh-Rahul-Priyanka as on the chief minister. UP’s political players have one year and a lot of hard work left to redeem themselves.
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And for ur kind information maximum number of crimes women took place in congrees ruled Rajasthan not in u.p as u stated , read the ncrb report while rajsthant has half population than u.p , do u thing people are naive and illetrates so that they will buy ur all lies.
I think u r the most ignorant and misinformed journalist (if u r ) in the country , in the ease of doing u.p is on 2 no from 17, maximum number of of govt jobs without single corruption allegations provided in last 4yeasr, many expreways projects has been passed all under construction. No corrupttion charges against govt, zero communal riots in his regime,,,,,, and too many to tell , stop this lies and taking sides in journalism if u guys want people to believe and have faith on honest journalism.
It’s funny when people who have never spent any time in UP, write such rubbish articles just based on random media reports. I spent first 30 years of my life in UP, growing up in a rural part of UP near Delhi. Just one example – During SP/BSP days, whenever our electric transformer used to blow-up (very common during peak summer days), it used to take 5 -10 days before replacement. That too, people had too pool money, then one person used to travel to Lucknow to bribe electricity officers to get this ‘expedited’. All this stupidity stopped with BJP government.
Both SP and BSP local leaders were mostly land mafias, grabbing government and disputed lands across. It was so heartening to see how Yogi govt has taken land back from these thugs.
It’s so easy to bark sitting in your glass house. Come to small towns and villages of Delhi, people will tell you the difference. For the first time, criminals are afraid of Police, roads and drains are getting cleaned and electricity and water situation has actually improved.
Yogi can still lose, electoral success in UP depends more on caste arithmetic than anything else. However, don’t pander absolute lies and get out of your delusion.
Kewal Yogi In Uttar Pradesh dalal print media
There is none so blind as one who does not wish to see. This is an apt description for the author.
When Yogi is about to celebrate the completion of VARANASI EXPRESSWAY in the record time, he is building 4 long expressways, Ruhi SELECTIVELY writes about achievements, Her omissions and commissions give away the fact that she is a PAID TROLL for hire.
POOHI is a CONGRASS journalist and she believes that her party’s ideology of “DIVIDE HINDUS AND RULE ” is still relevant.
She believes that GOONDAS and RIOTERS who had freedom during BABUA and his father’s regime is what UP needs.
She believes that parks and recruitment in government which were huge scams during BEHENJI regime is what UP needs.
She believes the “princesses ” who married a dancing scamster and under whose mother’s regime proselytizers and scamsters had a free run is what UP needs.
She believes that YOGIJI a practising HINDU who promises to save HINDUS from proselytizers and RIOTERS is what UP doesn’t need. She fears that HINDUS who believe in education and science and prosperity and development will make RENTED JOURNALISTS irrelevant .
Poohiji such controversial write-up shows mental trauma for being out of POWER structure. She should stop acting as a journalist and join congrass.
I was born and brought up in the 90s in Uttar Pradesh, studied from IIT Kanpur. Let me tell you, UP and us UP people have suffered immensely under SP BSP; BSP to a lesser extent but suffered nevertheless. My hometown Kanpur has been reduced to a decrepit image of its glorious industrial past all due to pandering to Leftists and Socialists.
Author should spend a summer day with 15 hours of powercut without any power back up, she’ll understand how our days were in the socialist land of UP during the late 90s and early 2010s.
Come on! Forget one expressway Yogi has 4 expressways under construction
If CM Bisht is to be denied a second term, the three / four opposition parties will have to come together. If they remain in splendid isolation, the electoral machine will crush them beneath its wheels. Perhaps some of them fear something else which can harm them even more. As for the incumbent’s record, it is a tragedy that 230 million of India’s poorest citizens must endure such a complete absence of Vikas, leavened with abysmal governance. Twice of Vietnam’s population.
It’s not the success of Modi but the failure of Modi haters to sell the lies to the stupid Indian voters as the crook librandus had believed so far. Thanks to internet and social media for exposing lies of Modi haters. It’s sad that Modi haters are likely to disappear dissatisfied and frustrated.
Good point! The opposition has failed miserably. Identity politics is dead. Yogi needs to be held accountable and hopefully honest view will show his lack of eligibility for future central role.
Though Ruhi’s blinders are also on display. Disappointingly, she does not do honest justice to initiatives taken by UP including expressways and defence corridors. Or digitization of education. Would be great to get honest views on these. Are they paper projects or have genuine impact.
People join the most lucrative business or profession of politics to earn handsome amount of money. Most of the people think All those ex-CM s and dynasts have earned enough to last for seven generations. ( one of the cited political family may have amassed to last for next seventy generations ), then why they should be in Fatigue-Dress all the times. They have money. They can hire mercenaries to fight for them . They can hire good pen-pushers to write for them . Have you not seen Delhi s borders being under SEIZE by their mercenary foot solders ? The politician of today have learnt and are using neo -techniques to fight there battles, war . Keep Updating your knowledge . World of politics is changing at speed of mercurial velocity. {Remember this was said by……… }
Good looking, smartly dressed English speaking Indians seem to have a dislike for the saffron clad half sadhu half politician with two days of stubble and a sobbing MP in Loksabha.
Why Mayawati, Akhilesh, Rahul and others over last four years not been able to stand up to Yogi?
What is that he had the others do not have?
A CLEAN IMAGE which for some reason the media is unwilling to accept.
Has this society sunk so deeply in the corruption that do not even want to give credit to someone who does not seem to be personally corrupt.
Well said!!!
The hate for yogi Adityanath is evident.Shaky Governance seriously??.What happened to the pathetic kerala model and compare it to U.P which did a much better job.During lockdown when migrants were stranded helpless Who sent buses to make sure they come back home safely.what about the infrastructure development that is taking place a rapid pace.Goverance according to you is just recruiting Yadav’s in all gov post.Bringing in a transparent process on recruitment is bad governance.Finishing off gundas is bad governance.Ignorance fools you are ruhi Tewari doesn’ mean that if you can’t see the work done by yogi then it shows what sort of journalist you are.Anyway in India journalist are always for sale either for the ruling or the opposition party.