
18 Mar UP, up, and away for Adityanath
While the Uttar Pradesh CM may have registered a handsome double-term win, the Oppn — especially the Congress — needs to rethink strategy.
Congratulations Yogi ji, it’s a double term for you. Your tactics are unorthodox and no one can steal the credit for your victory, except the miscalculations of the Opposition. So let’s get to it.
Losers first: The AAP may have won Punjab, but failed again to impress the Uttar Pradesh electorate. But we have to give them leeway, for they weren’t serious contenders anyway. But what happened to the ‘elephant’, the BSP? Mayawati’s party once again failed to capture the Dalit and non-Dalit votes. It got only 12.7 per cent of the vote and elected one member to the UP State legislature. Keep in mind that the BSP had about 19 legislators in the last Assembly. And as the trudging elephant walks towards an ebony grave, the fiery Chandra Shekhar Ravan, a budding Dalit leader, spread himself too thin hoping to not be trampled under its weight. He too failed to capitalise on Dalit votes; perhaps even weakened Dalit unity. Unlike Mayawati, he at least managed to gain some popularity through social media and making new associations and expanding cadre across UP. It is now clear that Ravan is planning for the long haul and positioning himself to catch the mature Dalit and OBC vote in the future. Maybe this was the reason Akhilesh Yadav dumped him in the very beginning.
Overall, the Dalit vote gravitated towards BJP in this round again. But the BSP or Ravan aren’t the biggest losers. Pushed deeper into the abyss is Priyanka’s image as well as the UP Congress. State Congress president Ajay Lallu even lost his election. With only two seats, the Congress campaign machine has failed. Their “liberal and Left” inclined poll strategy has destroyed any respect the party had. With practically no cadre, Priyanka ‘Ladki hu lad sakti hu’ has fallen flat on her face. She has shown the nation that she can fight only to lose. If I were Priyanka, I would cull my coterie — especially the flattering Lefty types. They have destroyed Indira’s granddaughter even before she broke into her political shoes. The liberal media and every influenced TV anchor are guilty of misleading the Congress party. In its current form, the Congress may be finished by the next election because it fails to understand UP beyond its own ideology.
They have failed to attract the young and disregarded the traditional status quo. They have also neglected the caste balance and failed to empower new leaders from the State. While the BJP extensively depends on UP’s Thakurs, Congress appears to be disgusted with them. The sad induction of former UP president Sanjay Sinh into the BJP was a political statement. But with Capt Amarinder and Scindia out, and Pilot ‘disciplined’, the Congress house-cleaning seems to be complete. Sidhu and Channi’s ego wars are also over with the Punjab loss. Only one group within the Congress remains to be dealt with. Once that is done, one feels that the Congress leadership will be more centralised and effective. Don’t be fooled by the resignation rumours. The Gandhi triumvirate may only be testing the faithful once again. The Congress fiefdoms are being broken into by the Gandhis tacitly.
The Congress is using the BJP to clean its own house. I know that it is a bold statement but the Congress core team won’t be appalled once they read this. Political wheeler-dealers often use their opponents to consolidate their own political positions.
Getting back to UP, so why did Priyanka embark on such a dreamy interview campaign, perhaps knowing fully well she will destroy herself? My mind can think of only one answer: Priyanka may have been looking for western allies and liberal-minded donors. But this adventure cost the Congress its dignity and strengthened the BJP. Congress also worked against any mega-coalition against the BJP.
The RLD did benefit and gained seven additional seats, whereas the SP gained 111, a portentous number for sure. But Akhilesh could have done much better. His Jinnah proclivities and bad political advisors have landed him in the Opposition once again. As a result, key members of his advisory group like Abhishek Mishra were rejected by the electorate. No matter what the SP spokespersons say, it is perceived as a “Muslim-Yadav” raj combine and threaten other communities directly. The SP’s late involvement in the farmers’ revolution and laidback political campaign are all to blame for BJP’s victory. Maybe like the Congress, Akhilesh needs house cleaning too. He needs to use his own gut feel about things and people, and not rely on staid advice.
It’s not that the BJP didn’t make mistakes, but these were calculated ones. One expected loss was, of course, in Amethi. Incumbent MLA Garima Singh was not given a ticket and instead Sanjay Sinh fought on the BJP ticket. He lost, ending his own political career and also weakening Smriti Irani’s position in 2024.
The Opposition in UP needs to seriously rethink and rejuvenate itself, for otherwise the door to the political seat in Delhi will be forever closed to them. It is time to get off the libtard bandwagon and get one with real politics once again.
Content Source – https://www.dailypioneer.com/2022/columnists/up–up–and-away–for-adityanath.html
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