Lucknow, Mar 18: Mahant Yogi Adityanath, the lead priest of Shri Gorakhnath Mandir, is the new chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Adityanath’s elevation came as a surprise for political pundits, considering his far-right ideological stance. By choosing him for the top job, BJP top brass has seemingly endorsed his Hindutva brand of politics.
“By appointing Adityanath as CM, BJP would be misreading the mandate. The landslide verdict which BJP won was due to the promise of vikaas. People did not voted for Hindutva. By appointing Adityanath as the CM, I see BJP returning back to the ’90s,” veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai said on India Today.
Adityanath, the MP from Gorakhpur, holds sway over a vast majority of BJP workers in Poorvanchal belt. Several pollsters credited his role for BJP’s sweeping victory in sixth and seventh phase of UP elections.
Apart from his political clout in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Adityanath also remained a popular personality in western UP, where communal tensions continue to prevail post-Muzaffarnagar riots. During his campaign for the initial phases of elections, Adityanath had reiterated that “Kairana has turned into Kashmir”, with “Hindus being forced to flee similar to Pandits of the Valley.”
Accusing the Akhilesh Yadav-led government of providing refuge to Muslim rioters, Adityanath had said, “Why are there no riots in eastern UP? And why there have been 450 riots in western UP? Because this government has empowered goons of a certain community.”
Despite his massive electoral appeal, Adityanath was expected to be trailing in the race till earlier in the day. However, the tides seemingly changed after he flew to Delhi on sudden notice in the afternoon, for a high-level meeting with BJP president Amit Shah.
Ahead of the election, Adityanath supporters had demanded BJP to announce him as the chief ministerial candidate. Aggrieved by pary not paying heed to their demand, the Hindu Yuva Vahini, Adityanath’s cultural outfit, had decided to contest elections from the Poorvanchal belt in UP. However, Adityanath’s intervention compelled the Hindu Yuva Vahini to back down from the electoral race.
Appointing Adityanath as the CM involved a number of risks for the saffron party. Apart from creating anxiety among the state’s 19 per cent Muslim population, BJP could also end up disenchanting the right-leaning liberals who sided with BJP considering Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s poll plank of vikaas. Secondly, Adityanath’s skill as a an administrator has not been put to a test.
Third, Adityanath also remains an unreliable personality, who could resort to arm-twisting tactics, as seen in the manner Hindu Yuva Vahini was used before the elections. Fourth, the party could face dissent from OBC and non-Jatav Dalits, who could resent with the appointment of a hardline Brahim as the chief minister. It could nullify the social engineering undertaken by Amit Shah over the past couple of years to shed the Brahmin-Baniya tag from BJP.
However, the advantages of appointing Adityanath as the CM could outweigh the flaws. The 44-year-old is arguably the most popular young leader of BJP in UP. Being the five-term MP, he has proved his political acumen before the party. Adityanath also has a loyal cadre base which would strongly back him throughout his tenure. His large than life Hindutva appeal would suppress the scope of revolt among BJP workers and volunteers associated with competing contenders in the chief ministerial race.
The Adityanath-led BJP regime in UP would face the daunting task of generating employment, improving infrastructure, solving agricultural woes and fixing the state of law and order. Political pundits are unsure whether he would pursue the path of vikaas or push the state back to the Kamandal era.
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