Ruling party’s rising star Yogi eclipsed on home turf
NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, seen as the rising star in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since being chosen to lead India’s most populous state in March 2017, suffered a setback on his homeground when the BJP lost the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat to the Samajwadi Party ( SP) on Wednesday.
The 45-year-old head priest of the Gorakhnath Mutt has emerged as a star campaigner for the BJP across states in recent months, only behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah. He addressed 35 election rallies during the campaign for the Gujarat assembly polls last year, frequented Tripura ahead of the February election and is giving BJP’s campaign a push in Karnataka, which is due to vote in May.
The loss of Gorakhpur is certain to be painful for Adityanath, who was elected to Parliament from the constituency five times.This is the first time in 29 years that the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat will not be represented by a member of the Gorakhnath Mutt. The strong following the Gorakhnath Mutt has in Tripura and coastal Karnataka prompted the BJP leadership to send Adityanath beyond the boundaries of UP to campaign for the party. “Wednesday’s result is a warning signal for him,” a Union minister from UP said on condition of anonymity. “He can’t take UP for granted anymore.”
Adityanath said “overconfidence” cost the BJP the Gorakhpur and Phulpur seats, both won by the SP, with the support of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and the defeat needed introspection. “We need to review this verdict to perform better in future,” he said.
The clout of the Gorakhnath Mutt in the region bordering Nepal, and Adityanath’s personality cult made him indispensable to the BJP in Gorakhpur. An upper caste Thakur leader, he epitomised a strong Hindutva brand of politics that also helped him win a following among differ- ent castes. He raised a brigade of young men — the Hindu Yuva Vahini — that also courted controversies with its activities in the Gorakhpur region.
The following he and the Mutt enjoyed meant Adityanath was not dependent on the BJP to win elections, and he used this advantage over the years to have his way in organisational matters such as appointments and distribution of election tickets . He was the surprise pick for the CM’s post when the BJP won a threefourth majority in assembly elections last year. As CM, he kept the Gorakhpur connect alive, often visiting the temple.
The alliance between the SP and BSP put paid to his hopes of renewing BJP’s hold on the seat. “He, perhaps, overestimated his strength and underestimated the SP-BSP alliance’s,” a Lok Sabha MP from eastern Uttar Pradesh said on condition of anonymity.
BJP insiders in Delhi ruled out any immediate political fallout on Adityanath in UP but claimed his functioning will be “closely watched”. “To lose a seat that we won by a margin of 3-lakh plus votes just four years back cannot be swept under the carpet,” a senior BJP politician said on condition of anonymity.