Vacating government bungalows by outgoing ministers following electoral defeats may appear to be too routine a matter to grab media attention. In Uttar Pradesh, however, it became the focus of attention.

The ‘Modi magic’, which swept the state in the just-concluded Assembly polls and handed down one of the worst defeats to the Samajwadi Party, it seems, continues to haunt the SP leaders.

And this time Modi’s magic was on display on the doors of one of the outgoing UP ministers, Ravi Das Mehrotra, in the form of a lock when he vacated his official accommodation on Friday.

The lock read ‘Modi Magic Double Lock’, which was manufactured by a firm in UP’s Aligarh town, known for its lock industry.

It was, however, unclear if the ‘Modi Magic’ locks were deliberately used to lock up the government bungalows.

It is the estate department that is responsible for maintaining and renovating government accommodations used to house ministers.

“It is like any other lock... the only thing is that they are safer as they have a double locking system,” an official said.

Double jeopardy

For many others it seemed to be double jeopardy for the SP leaders.
“The Modi magic is still haunting them (SP leaders)... their fate has been double locked,” said a supporter of one of the newly elected BJP legislators.

The BJP scripted a historic win in the state Assembly polls, capturing 312 of the 403 seats.