SAFFRON DAZE Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath at a party meet in Lucknow
didn ’ t expect to win ”. That they did , Pai feels , is as much a reflection of the BJP ’ s growing arrogance and Yogi ’ s administration as the opposition front ’ s viability . “ The death of hundreds of children in the Gorakhpur hospital is one big factor against Yogi . There is no development in the region . There are hardly any schools , no roads and no jobs . His way of controlling law and order with dubious means and encounters has not gone down well , especially in eastern UP . Also , Yogi ’ s Hindu Yuva Vahini has been acting as an extortionist and trouble-making force ,” Pai explains .
Several BJP leaders told Outlook that even the RSS had asked Yogi to dismantle the Vahini soon after he took over as CM . The fear among RSS functionaries is that the outfit may grow as a parallel Hindutva organisation . With membership to the militia frozen since last year , the Vahini has been inactive for quite some time . “ The continued pressure from RSS may have ensured its inactivity . Its existing members are smarting and waiting for
PTI action ,” says a BJP leader from UP .
The results have also exposed other faultlines within the BJP . “ The blatantly caste-based politics in the state is also a major issue ,” adds the UP leader . “ As Yogi is a Thakur , he is seen as indulging in ‘ thakurvaad ’ and promoting his own people . Pandits ( Brahmins ) are not happy . Neither are RSS cadres , who had played a crucial role in both the big victories the BJP got : in 2014 and in the assembly polls last year .”
IN the run-up to the bypolls , the BJP top brass had got ground reports indicating all was not well . “ That ’ s why Amit Shah went in for a Pandit candidate ( Upendra Dutt Shukla ) to appease the community . It was obviously too little and too late . And then the SP-BSP combine actually managed the arithmetic of combining their votebanks ,” says a senior central BJP leader .
Sources say even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed his displeasure at the lack of administration in UP . “ The PM was very angry at reports of an accident victim ’ s severed leg being used as a pillow for him in Jhansi
Medical College . He even ticked off state health minister Sidharth Nath Singh about it ,” the central leader adds .
The party top brass is obviously unhappy about the way the narrative is fast changing for the BJP . Though they put on a brave face and claim two byelection results should not be seen as a verdict on the Modi government , they realise its real significance — that the results are micro-indicators of public sentiments and , if not addressed , may bolster opposition attempts to put up a strong , united and real challenge in 2019 .
The central leadership had already initiated a project of course-correction , but the UP results have reinforced the sense of urgency that things cannot be taken for granted . The party has been taking cues from the ground and being responsive for some time now . One of the first major indications came when Modi tweaked GST provisions in the run-up to the Gujarat election , sensing the anger of traders . “ Then came the defeat in Ajmer and Alwar — we did a detailed analysis and are working on Rajasthan ,” says a party general secretary , giving details of how the party is reacting to events with an adverse potential . “ Again , when Lenin ’ s statue was razed and Periyar ’ s damaged , both the government and the party imm ediately responded . The PM expressed his strong disapproval , so did Amit Shah . Ram Madhav deleted his tweet soon after . Home minister Rajnath Singh sent a strong message . He even spoke to the Tripura Governor , asking him to exercise restraint .”
According to this general secretary , the PM was angry that just as the narrative for the BJP seemed to be changing with Tripura , some party members and workers queered the pitch with their irresponsible remarks and actions . “ Gujarat was a close shave for us , and Ajmer-Alwar came soon after . Then the Nirav Modi controversy broke out . And now , our big win in Tripura seems to have been overshadowed by the UP results ,” admits the office-bearer . “ Worse , opposition unity does not seem that far-fetched now because they have realised the BJP is not invincible . The 2019 fight seems wide open .” That ’ s quite an admission , especially striking because gloom is not a sentiment one encounters often in the BJP during the Modi-Shah era . O
26 March 2018 OUTLOOK 21