All political parties seem to have a whiff of the early battle, and have quickened preparations. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav is in action mode, and has instructed his top brass to advance deadlines for his dream projects which were earlier supposed to get over by 2016-end or early-2017.
Elections in Uttar Pradesh are likely to be held much earlier than scheduled. The Akhilesh Yadav regime's tenure will last till March 15, 2017, but political analysts say the electoral encounter could happen this year-end itself.
All political parties seem to have a whiff of the early battle, and have quickened preparations. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav is in action mode, and has instructed his top brass to advance deadlines for his dream projects which were earlier supposed to get over by 2016-end or early-2017.
Senior political analyst Pradeep Kapoor outlines the reason why there is a flurry of activity in all political parties in the state. "There is a sudden visible sense of urgency. The BJP has a very high stake in Uttar Pradesh unlike the five states (Kerala, Assam, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal) having elections in mid-2016."
Another crucial reason is that besides Uttar Pradesh, elections are scheduled in half a dozen other states in 2017. The thinking in political circles is that it might not be feasible for the Election Commission to club them with Uttar Pradesh, given the sheer vastness of the exercise in this huge state as also the high level of sensitivity due to communal and law and order issues involved.
Apart from Uttar Pradesh, elections are due in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat, too, in 2017. In these states, the BJP is a big force. The strategy, campaign and outcome in Uttar Pradesh is bound to affect other states as well.
Besides, the results in Uttar Pradesh will have a direct and decisive bearing on Narendra Modi's image and performance as PM. The BJP would want to focus its entire energies on UP instead of planning for seven states.
The first indication of the BJP preparing for an early election came when party leading light Subramanian Swamy recently declared that the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya would begin in December this year. The BJP has just got a new state president, Keshav Maurya, a backward, to replace the upper caste LK Bajpayee. BJP chief Amit Shah and at least a dozen ministers would be camping in UP from next month.
For his part, Akhilesh Yadav has also quickened pace. Officials have been told to advance the deadlines for his three dream projects – Lucknow metro rail, Agra-Lucknow expressway and Gomti river front beautification – from December to October 2016. Work is on at break-neck speed on these projects.
The BSP is not lagging either, and is learnt to have finalized more than half of the 400-odd Assembly candidates already.
Similarly, in the Congress camp, ace poll strategist Prashant Kishore has been in a huddle with top party leaders, finalizing the party's poll campaign. For the first time, the Congress is expected to clear all its candidates long before the elections are scheduled.
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