Will Adityanath be able to fulfil BJP’s poll promises?
Overcoming Uttar Pradesh’s financial constraints will be a challenge and also a test of his administrative skills
Recently Mulayam Singh Yadav was asked to comment on the performance of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh. He declined saying he preferred to wait for six months. That’s because Yadav belongs to the generation that neither celebrated nor condemned the performance of a government before it completed six months in office.
The BJP had made tall poll promises in UP, the execution of which will require leadership skills as the CM heads a raw team. Recently in an informal chat, he shared his ambitious plans and projects in various sectors, especially health and education.
The CM’s blueprint, likely to be announced on the 100th day, might lay out the direction his government embarks on, besides the populist measures like the antiRomeo squads, triple talaq and cow slaughter that have already been announced.
Law and order is the Adityanath government’s Achilles heel. Caste conflicts have intensified, and two major communities feeling marginalised are the Muslims and Dalits, which forms 40% of the state’s population.
The BJP has tried to assuage the sentiments of lower castes by nominating a Dalit as President of India, but the Dalits are not amused as some claim that Kanshi Ram rejected a similar offer on the plea that he did not need a post that silences him.
Of all the BJP governments, Kalyan Singh’s first stint in early 1990’s is remembered as the party’s best rule. Singh had taken four concrete steps to display his resolve – first, action was taken against two criminals, Raghuraj Pratap Singh and Mukhtar Ansari; second, the revival of the Chunar cement factory, coupled with revival plans for UPTRON and Scooters India; third, copying was made a cognisable offence; and fourth, goons were paraded in market places.
In West UP the traders, including the Muslims, hailed Singh’s action against criminals in every district. However, he lost this goodwill in his second term when he shook hands with same criminals to save his government.
Many saw some glimpses of the Singh regime in Yogi’s government when he brought in many first timers as ministers.
Though the CM is optimistic about the radical changes that the people will notice soon, he will have to prioritise given UP’s financial constraints — constraints that will multiply after farm loans are waived.
The challenge will be to implement the promises made in the party’s manifesto. Yogi Adityanath comes out as a young mahant ready to prove his administrative skills.
The coming years will tell if he remains a mahant or becomes a manager, and a successful one at it. As they say, a leader capable of managing UP well can run India too.