With only a few months away from the Assembly elections 2022 in Uttar Pradesh, the media segments have started speculating over the chances of BJP winning under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath. However, over more than four years he has definitely built up a following of his own. One cannot deny the fact that the BJP has its strongest vote bank in Uttar Pradesh but it faces a strong uphill task. As the elections draw closer the different political parties have started preparations to put up a strong fight while they explore all possible options for a pre-poll alliance and deciding for their best choice for the chief minister's post. The politics of Yogi Adityanath and Narendra Modi have faced tough questions due to the migrant crisis and the challenges faced due to the possible mismanagement of the Covid crisis during its second wave. For BJP to win 2022 and later in 2024 it has to work on two focal points first on the Hindu upper castes and also the smaller non-Yadav castes while the latter is the non-committed Hindu voter’s castes which has its worries more on the economic prospects. The farmer protests which have been a major cause of concern can cause the non-committed Hindu voters to move away from the favour of Yogi Adityanath if not handled well.
The BJP’s central leadership has begun its preparations for the significant Uttar Pradesh polls by smoothening out any differences, working on the caste matrix and putting forth all efforts to build the image of the Yogi Adityanath government. BJP has admired and appreciated the work done by the Yogi government in the past four years. However, it needs to be understood that the Ram temple built alone is insufficient for the party to seize power in the coming elections. Akhilesh Yadav Samajwadi Party has made considerable gains despite not much show at the local panchayat elections. Yadav expressed that he will not tie-up with the major political parties instead go with the regional parties. Congress has been trying to revive itself in the state it all rests upon how Priyanka Gandhi manages to woo the voters of Uttar Pradesh. It seems Rahul Gandhi is not too keen on taking control over the situation it would be interesting to find Priyanka Gandhi being projected as the CM face in UP. Another major player is Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal who has made his presence felt wide across by winning many seats. Sanjay Singh has helped AAP to divide the vote bank of BJP while party leaders believe that if the Aam Admi party wins the development model of Delhi will be similarly implemented in Uttar Pradesh. Mayawati from the Bahujan Samajwadi party is optimistic for the assembly elections early next year but would not hesitate to join hands with Om Prakash Rajbhar who has revoked any possibility of an alliance with the BJP.
Yogi Adityanath’s popularity is only next to that of Narendra Modi and that of Amit Shah. The older or new alliances might not have that much of say as much of how Adityanath is viewed by the electorate. The inherent signal here from the CM’s saffron attire is a mix of politics and development. However, the economic performance of the overall Indian economy affects UP’s performance which is a major cause of concern for the BJP. The state needs to conduct itself well from now till the March 2022 polls for the voters to agree unanimously on the future of BJP in UP.