It's MY vs MY in Uttar Pradesh polls

Akhilesh Yadav

It’s MY vs MY in Uttar Pradesh. While the SP largely banks on its Muslim-Yadav support base, the BJP is trying to counter it with the Modi-Yogi combo in the state Assembly polls.

Since days of Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party (SP) has enjoyed a powerful electoral support base among Muslims and Yadavs, who constitute around 20 per cent and 10 per cent population of the state, respectively.

His son Akhilesh Yadav, who is solely managing the poll shows for his party this time, inherited this advantage.

He, however, has made an attempt to expand his base by giving tickets to non-Yadav Other Backward Castes.

Flocking of leaders like O P Rajbhar, Swami Prasad Maurya and Dara Singh Chauhan and the alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) of Jayant Chaudhary has further given a boost to his efforts to dethrone the BJP.

Meanwhile, several BJP leaders told PTI that setting the narrative around Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is helping them offset the anti-incumbency against the state government.

In election speeches of all BJP leaders, one can find rich reference to work done by the PM for the country and Adityanath in UP.

Publicity material of the saffron party in the politically crucial state is largely themed around the duo.

Even the prime minister praises Adityanath for ending the “mafia raj” of the previous Samajwadi Party government led by Akhilesh Yadav.

Yogi too never forgets to highlight bold decisions of the Modi government such as doing away with the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and paving way for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, in addition to relief provided to the poor during the coronavirus pandemic.

The BJP’s poll narrative surrounding Modi-Yogi can be noticed clearly when one talks to their leaders and supporters.

Amethi BJP leader Rajesh Agrahi told PTI, Modi-Yogi is a success chant among people.

Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi have no takers like in the past but the mention of the work done by Modi and Adityanath in the state help them establish instant rapport with people during campaigning, Agrahi said.

BJP’s Amethi and Sultanpur leaders Durgesh Tripathi and R A Verma echoed similar views.

Verma told PTI that some of the anti-incumbency faced by the BJP MLA in Sultanpur has been neutralised by the Modi-Yogi factor.

Coordinator of the BJP’s panchayat cell in Gorakhpur, Ajay Tiwari, said the BJP will get the benefit of development work done by the PM and the CM in the state.

BJP leaders are using the narrative in Rae Bareli, where the party is aiming at a clean sweep on five seats in the parliamentary constituency of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Two Congress MLAs from Rae Bareli and Mahachandrapur have defected to the saffron camp to give a greater thrust to the BJP’S aim to make Rae Bareli “Congress-mukt” this time.

It’s not only the leaders, people supporting the BJP are also attracted by the Modi and Yogi factor.

Jang Bahadur Singh, a native of Gauriganj in Amethi district, said people here have strong faith in the leadership of Modi and Yogi.

Binod Kumar Shukla and Pitardeen Shukla of the neighbouring Madhavpur village in Amethi echoed similar views.