PRASHANT JHA

NEWDELHI: Uttar Pradesh holds a mega investor summit from Wednesday. In itself, this is not unusual. Each state now hosts captains of industry, showcases incentives it can provide, and seeks to lure investment. In the last few weeks, both Maharashtra and Assam have held such events. If anything, UP is behind the curve. It desperately needs industry, it needs jobs, and it needs to woo capital.

But the UP investor summit is not just a governance or economic initiative. This is a deeply political move, which has the stamp of chief minister Yogi Adityanath all over it. It is one element of a four-pillar ‘model’ that Adityanath appears to have picked straight from the Narendra Modi playbook in Gujarat.

When Adityanath took over as chief minister, there was surprise at the BJP’S pick. With his controversial statements and alleged record of inciting communal polarisation, he was seen as the ‘fringe’ within the BJP. But after his appointment, Adityanath -who is only 45 -- sensed an opportunity.

Anyone who rules Lucknow begins harbouring national ambitions because of the sheer political weight of the state. Adityanath was well aware that this required more sophisticated politics than the one that he had practised in Gorakhpur until then. In a way, his role model was Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had undergone one of the most dramatic image transformations