Perceptions about UP have now changed and the State is completely transformed
Uttar Pradesh is in the news as the ruling BJP is not only showcasing its achievements but the cultural agenda is also being asserted. The grand opening of the Kashi corridor was part of the core ideological commitment of BJP. Development and governance are the main themes of the poll campaign which is supported by the iconic images of the Prime Minister and Chief Minister. Even his baiters agree that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has provided a secure atmosphere in the state and ended the mafia raj. Perception about UP has changed now and the state is completely transformed.Overall improvement in infrastructure facilities, control over crime and taming of the bureaucracy has resulted in improvement in ease of business. TheGSDP (current price) of the state has also grown over seven percent over a period of four years from 2017 to 2021 and this is despite the Covid-19 impact. When Yogi claims about increasing the network of roads and power availability, they are not hollow claims but backed by statistics. The length of national highways has increased from 8,483 km in 2017 to 11,831 km in 2021 recording an increase of 40 percent. Power availability has increased from 10,570 crore units in 2017 to 12,338 crore units in 2021, an increase of 17 percent. Traditionally UP has been a backward and populous state and therefore change in social indicators becomes an important benchmark for performance assessment. The annual social expenditure has increased1.5 times within four years after Yogi came to power.UP has scored 60 against overall the national average of 66 in the SDG India index published this year by Niti Ayog. Recently Niti Ayog released a report on health ranking of the states and UP has not fared well. However, it is worthwhile to highlight that UP comes at the top when incremental performance (i.e., current round versus previous round) is assessed. An overall performance is the sum total of efforts and performances by all the governments while incremental performance shows the performance of the current regime. Chief ministers of other states were busy giving advertisements during the second wave and their presence was limited to video conferencing while Yogi led from the front in a populous state like UP. UP’s ‘test-trace-treat’ model to fight the pandemic was lauded all across the country andthe CM was praised for his efforts. UP’s economy is primarily agriculture-based and farmer’s agitation was at the centre-stage in this year. UP has registered net value added growth at CAGR of 7.9 percent (at current prices) over a four-year period in agriculture and allied sectors.Initiatives like farm loan waiver in 2017, increase in MSP of farm produces, clearing sugarcane dues, completion of irrigation schemes etc. has contributed towards agriculture sector growth. Ground reports suggest that the farmers’ agitation had a limited effect in certain pockets of the State. BJP is showcasing development, Governance, nationalism and cultural Hindutva while the opposition is busy wasting its time in a puerile discussion over Hindu versus Hindutva. Intellectuals who always mocked cultural nationalism and portrayed it against development citing that both are mutually exclusive are speechless now. Road to Delhi goes via UP and it seems like a lost battle for opposition.
(The author is a Chartered Accountant, and public policy analyst. The views expressed are personal.)
