Since he became UP CM in 2017, Yogi has campaigned in Gujarat & Himachal. BJP campaign managers are flooded with requests to bring him for rallies.
New Delhi: When it comes the Bharatiya Janata Party’s star campaigners for any state election, obviously the biggest draw is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But there’s a clear second favourite as well – the party’s campaign managers are often flooded with requests to bring Yogi Adityanath to constituencies across far-flung states.
Even after he became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh almost a year ago, his reputation as a firebrand Hindutva leader has not dimmed, and many party leaders believe his presence can consolidate Hindu votes in favour of the BJP. In fact, some go to the extent of saying that his ability to create controversy without effort is unparalleled, and that just means more crowds, more media attention, and thus more votes.
Most recently, Yogi has campaigned in Tripura, where the Nath community, of which he is the leader on account of being the head priest of the Gorakhnath Math in Gorakhpur, is present in large numbers. BJP’s campaign strategists in the state asked for seven rallies and three public meetings in areas where there’s a sizeable number of Nath voters, in its bid to wrest the red bastion from the CPI(M). Yogi obliged and attended all ten planned events.
But does the Yogi magic actually work? ThePrint has delved deep into data to examine Yogi’s strike rate in the constituencies he has covered since he became UP CM in 2017. He has visited 48 – 45 in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, and three in other states where bypolls were held – UP’s Sikandra, Madhya Pradesh’s Chitrakoot, and Kerala’s Vengara.
The BJP has won 20 of these 48 seats, giving star campaigner Yogi a strike rate of 42 per cent.
Result not in campaigner’s hands
BJP MP Anurag Thakur, who supervised his father Prem Kumar Dhumal’s unsuccessful campaign in the Sujanpur assembly constituency in Himachal Pradesh, said campaigners cannot be judged on the basis of the results.
“Winning isn’t solely dependent on campaigners. There are local issues, issues relevant to the state, and issues that even make a difference to a particular district of the constituency,” Thakur told ThePrint.
“The job of star campaigners is to keep the cadres charged up and reach out to the masses. And in that regard, I believe that when the likes of Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath come to any state for campaigning, the atmosphere gets electrified. The energy level of the cadres goes up, giving momentum to the campaign process.”
However, Thakur added that the timing of star campaigners’ visits was crucial.
“The success of star campaigners also depends on when they come to a poll-bound state. If they come in the last leg of the campaign, for example, strategists have to bear in mind that can the voter’s choice be changed at a late stage?” Thakur said.
On the other hand, there are also those in the BJP who feel that a strike-rate of 42 per cent is underwhelming for a person of Yogi’s standing and reputation.
Graphics by Siddhant Gupta