New Delhi: The victory of Zilla Parishad Chairpersons in Uttar Pradesh proves Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's achievements during his tenure.
The election results for the Zilla Parishad chairpersons in Uttar Pradesh leave over one political message. More so because it has come just months before the 2022 assembly polls wherein Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath would face the litmus test.
The UP Chief Minister has previously handled issues such as conversion, and the Jungle Raj is now a thing of the past. There have been several welfare measures and developmental works too.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are among those who have rightly given due credit to Yogi Adityanath, who is the Hindutva mascot in the country's most populous state making a right synthesis between Hindu nationalism and development.
Yogi tweeted to say that the historic victory of the BJP results from the public welfare policies of Prime Minister Modi. "This is a manifestation of public confidence in the established good governance in Uttar Pradesh. Thanks to all the people of the state and hearty congratulations on victory," Yogi Adityanath tweeted.
Of course, Yogi Adityanath will be the party's face in the upcoming assembly elections, with PM Modi, Shah, and BJP chief J P Nadda as star campaigners. The matter of 'better law and order' would also be brought up, as several gangsters have been killed or imprisoned in the last four years.
Within a month after assuming office in March 2017, the Chief Minister had declared – "if you commit a crime, you will be knocked off."
The Uttar Pradesh Police say 'Jungle Raj' is a thing of the past.
According to the data, "103 offenders were killed and 1,859 were injured" between March 2017 and December 2019.
It was also claimed that in two years, at least 17,745 criminals surrendered or canceled their bails to go to jail.
“We are clear about our electoral strategies. We will tell voters how much we have achieved in a short time due to ‘double engine’ works of both the state government under Yogi and the Modi government in the center,” says a party leader.
Yogi, who has exuded confidence in winning back the state for his party, also has some unique records as his political legacy. These could reap political dividends.
Yogi's followers, especially in the Noida region, recall his active participation in a re-conversion drive in Etah, Uttar Pradesh, when 1,800 Christians were re-converted to Hinduism.
The conversion row has come back to the state polity with a 'conspiracy' like a mega episode coming to light.
The Enforcement Directorate claimed to have seized "incriminating documents" that reportedly reveal Mohammad Umar Gautam's involvement in forced religious conversions to Islam during searches at six locations associated with him.
Umar and his friend Mufti Qazi Jahangir Qasmi, along with a team, are accused of enticing individuals to Islam in exchange for financial help. Their schemes have been reported to have worked in UP and other states, trapping hundreds of people, including women from low-income families, the differently-abled, and other vulnerable groups.
"We have all the proof. A full team of 500 members are working on this case. This is a big crime," the UP CM told a television channel on Sunday.
Yogi Adityanath has the credit of giving BJP its prestigious Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat repeatedly.
It is true Gorakhpur was a winning constituency for four elections in 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014, underlining the unquestionable political sway of the Gorakhnath temple and its Mahant.
In 2019 also, actor-turned-politician Ravi Kishan won the prestigious seat for the BJP.
It is not said without good reason that minority-related issues and politics run parallel to each other in Uttar Pradesh.
Hence the ‘Uniform Civil Code’ could find an occasional reference in BJP leaders’ campaign pitch.
So would be the new Triple Talaq law enacted by the Modi government which has gone down well among Muslim women.
Sources have said the BJP leaders are keeping eyes on the political machinations of the rivals as well.
Although the Samajwadi Party is likely to be the strong opponent, Mayawati's BSP has the potential to change local politics as well. Therefore, again, the leadership has focused on caste equations.
The entry of Congress Jitin Prasada, a Brahmin and, the saffron party again befriending Apna Dal lawmaker Anupriya Patel are important episodes in this context.
Leaders from backward castes are again being given importance. Sizable Yadav voters have gone back to Samajwadi Party in recent months. This would be a major challenge to reverse the trend.
In 2017 itself, the Yogi government had created a quota within quota for the OBCs and Dalits. The move was to provide a separate quota to extremely backward castes within the 27 percent quota for the OBCs and a separate quota for Maha Dalits within the 21 percent quota for the scheduled castes.
A ‘Social Justice Committee’ was also set up under former judge G. Rohini to work out the separate quotas for the EBCs and Maha Dalits. The panel has submitted its report in August 2018.
