As the UP elections draw closer, the BJP knows more than just riding on the results.
As the UP elections draw closer, the BJP knows more than just riding on the results.
Lead actors in Uttar Pradesh were replacing themselves in the last lap of the country Assembly elections ending with Seventh and last phase on 7 March, Voter participation was close to 2017 levels in the first five phases, despite pandemic-related restrictions on campaigning. In the final week, the war in Ukraine also entered campaign talks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried to reach out to the people of the state directly affected by the war. He also acknowledged the seriousness stray cattle problem Because of the short-sighted cow protection policy implemented by the BJP-Government in the state. The party appeared defensive on the question of unemployment, garnering support for better law and order and welfare schemes. If re-elected, he has promised more welfare schemes like wedding gift of ₹1 lakh for girls from BPL families. Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav noted the power of welfare schemes for the BJP and sought to counter it by offering more. He has promised five years free ration to the poor which will include ghee, pulses and other items. They have also worked hard to do away with the labeling that they stood for one caste and one community: Yadavs and Muslims by expanding their social base. The question is whether he has Gather enough public support to oust BJP from power It has three-fourths of the seats in the outgoing assembly. The burden of the previous SP regime, considered corrupt and protector of criminals, hinders their pace.
Whoever wins, the results of March 10 will create ripples beyond state borders. The results would influence the course of national politics, especially the efforts of regional parties to create a common platform in opposition to the BJP led by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi made her mark in the campaign, though no one is betting on the Congress’s fortunes in the state. The Bahujan Samaj Party and the BJP made a public display of mutual warmth and its political meaning would become clear in the post-poll scenario. All these steps will largely depend on whether the core principles of the BJP will be challenged in the biggest bastion of politics. BJP has not suffered any setback in UP since 2014 and one-fifth of its current Lok Sabha members are elected from this one state. If the politics of social justice of the SP overturns the Hindutva parade of the BJP, it will be a return to the heartland of the politics of the 1990s. This whole possibility, however vague it may be, makes Uttar Pradesh a very consequential crucible of Indian politics.