DNA Edit: Troubled Yogi

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has a number of things to deal with. Media headlines surrounding the alleged gang-rape of an 18-year-old girl by a BJP MLA in Unnao and his friends have become a major headache for him.

The media has slammed the Yogi-led Uttar Pradesh government for ‘inaction’ and ‘shielding’ the saffron MLA and the other accused men. To make matters worse for the government, the rape survivor’s father died under mysterious circumstances in judicial custody, allegedly due to police torture.

The Opposition and the media have cornered the BJP government over the ‘Unnao gang-rape’ issue and has been demanding answers, but the state government has not been able to provide any. It’s not just that. A litany of complaints surrounding Yogi has been a matter of major concern and embarrassment for the BJP, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah reportedly having told him (Yogi) to set his house in order.

A complaint by a man claiming that the CM mocked him during a janta darbar has led to people wondering if the five-time Lok Sabha MP, and the party’s star campaigner could end up being a liability for the BJP ahead of the crucial state polls. There’s already talk that Yogi’s role as a campaigner for the polls may need to be played down if his image in UP doesn’t improve.

The problem for the BJP and PM Modi is that while Yogi is an effective speaker and has been effective in attracting the BJP’s core votebase, his inexperience in handling government affairs is allowing the Opposition to attack the BJP on its main plank — development.

The other problem is that while the BJP, and the PM, in particular, have been doing their best to reach out to Dalits, Yogi’s lack of ability to reach out to other castes and classes is proving to be a major handicap for the saffron party. Also, the number of complaints by fellow lawmakers about Yogi’s arrogance is growing.

The BJP has already lost the bypolls in Phulpur and Gorakhpur — the latter being Yogi’s bastion. The party will be all the more conscious of this given the fact that Akhilesh and Mayawati have buried the hatchet to form a formidable alliance in UP.

The BJP leaders who had expressed their surprise at the success of the alliance post the bypolls defeat know that the state government will have to do more to woo the Dalit community and assuage Muslims by delivering on their promises of development if they are to retain power in UP.

The BJP has done well in asking Yogi to clean up his act but is there enough time for him to make a meaningful impact in the state? The 2019 polls are just a year away and some say that it may be too late to implement policies on the ground that will resonate with people. On the positive side, the state government’s recent measures have gone down well with the people.

The government’s move to check arbitrary fee hike in private schools, along with other measures to reform the state’s ailing education sector, has been well received. Yogi will need to create more such goodwill if he is to regain his lost sheen.