As UP burns in anger at Yogi govt, BJP worried about 2022 polls

It appeared to be smooth sailing towards a second massive assembly poll victory in 2022 for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh — until the second wave of Covid-19 struck the country and its most populous state.

Uttar Pradesh, which was among the worst-affected states, witnessed chaotic scenes, with videos going viral of the attendants of infected patients wailing before hospitals after being denied admission and using harsh words for the ruling party leaders over shortage of oxygen, hospital beds and medicines.

Worse, videos showing cremation ghats filled with burning pyres and dead bodies floating in the Ganga only lent credence to the charge that the Yogi Adityanath government had failed to manage the situation.

Within the space of a couple of months, the saffron party found itself on the backfoot in this politically crucial state, which is scheduled to go to polls barely nine months hence. The party faced criticism for its failure to tackle the pandemic situation not only from the opposition parties but also from social activists and the citizens at large.

Repeated claims by BJP politicians, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, that the government had managed to provide adequate medical facilities to Covid-19 patients, have failed to cut ice with the people.

For the BJP, the pandemic has come at a particularly bad time. It struck when the saffron party had already been pushed on the defensive in the state, especially in the 'Jat' dominated western region, due to the ongoing agitation by farmers against the Modi government’s new farm laws.

That everything was not well on the ground for the BJP was evident in the panchayat polls in which the saffron party suffered humiliating defeats even in its strongholds of Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Ayodhya and Mathura. BJP-backed nominees could win only 750 of the total 3,050 Zilla Panchayat seats.

Also read: Yogi Adityanath to lead BJP in next year's Uttar Pradesh assembly polls

The Samajwadi Party managed to bag 760 seats. Although the state BJP leaders sought to put up a brave face and continued to claim success in the panchayat polls, sources in the saffron party said that the mishandling of the Covid-19 situation cost the party dearly in the polls.

''In the eastern and central regions, we had to face the anger of the people owing to the scarcity of oxygen and a large number of deaths while in the western region the farmers' protests against farm laws went against us,'' confided a senior UP BJP leader speaking to DH here.

The performance in the panchayat polls, coupled with the fear of a possible backlash over the poor management of the pandemic, has forced the BJP to revisit its electoral strategy.

Top leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP, including Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, held a crucial meeting in Delhi where the UP situation was discussed.

RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale rushed to Lucknow to hold ''strategy sessions'' with senior Sangh leaders the next day. A few days later, BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh also visited the state and held a series of meetings with state ministers and party leaders to “assess the fallout of the Covid mismanagement” for the party on next year's assembly polls.

A senior UP BJP leader here admitted that the party was “worried” over the ''negative perception'' among the people about the Yogi government, though he attributed it largely to ''opposition propaganda.''

That the saffron party, notwithstanding the bravado, is very worried was reflected in the way it changed its plans to get into election mode and launch its election campaign in the state. Instead, it was forced to change the slogan it had coined for the campaign— “har booth par jeet” (victory in every polling booth)— to “har booth par vaccination” (vaccination in every polling booth).

Santhosh also told party workers and leaders to reach out to the people, especially in the rural areas, and provide them succour. ''We must be seen to be standing with the people in their hour of grief and provide them all possible help,'' he told them.

Another worry for the BJP, ahead of the polls, is the ongoing tussle within the party, which was evident from the outbursts of its own party leaders after five BJP legislators died from Covid-19 in the past few days.

Several BJP MPs and MLAs and at least one minister sharply criticised the Yogi government for failing to ensure uninterrupted supply of oxygen and Remdesivir to Covid patients.

There is also resentment amongst senior party leaders and ministers over the “style of functioning of the chief minister”. Sources said that Yogi Adityanath and deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya did not enjoy cordial relations and that Maurya made no attempts to hide his feelings toward the CM during his discussion with Santhosh.

Although there were demands for Yogi to be replaced as chief minister, sources said that the national leadership of the party was not in favour of a change at this juncture as there was not much time before the polls. A leadership change just before the polls would send a wrong message to the people.

Political analyst J P Shukla said that there were still nine months to go for the polls and that the BJP could “manage” things by then. ''BJP has enough time to re-strategise,'' he said.

With the opposition parties going all out to ensure that peoples' anger at the Yogi government and BJP remains undiminished in the run up to the polls, it would take much more than holding strategy sessions for the BJP to return to power in the state under Yogi Adityanath.