Rumbling in poll bound Uttar Pradesh

It is a clash of titans which is unfolding before the all-important 2027 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha polls. It is an unusual clash unfolding in the annals of BJP- unheard during the last decade of Narendra Modi-Amit Shah supremacy, as the enthusiastic Opposition watches with glee from sidelines.

It is so because they are (Opposition), for the time being, out of this clash which is between the two power centres of the saffron party, Modi-Shah's centralised oversight leaving hardly any margin for fellow compatriots, and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Aditynanath's independent style of governance, loath to any interference from top bosses in New Delhi. Many manifestations of this clash of titans have come to the fore in the recent past. From BJP's internal battle of supremacy to control the organisational mechanism in Uttar Pradesh, to reports of the Centre's desperate but failed attempts, up till now, to reign in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath like the other BJP-ruled states headed by lightweights and political novices. And the huge controversy surrounding the alleged theft of donations in Ayodhya's Ram Temple assuming a state versus Centre dimension. In all these manifestations the battlelines seem getting drawn more clearly. To cap it all, Governor Mrs Anandiben Patel choosing Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's home turf Gorakhpur, his political as well as spiritual 'karambhoomi', to impliedly target him on the pretext of poor facilities in local educational institutions for the students and other like issues, has generated curiosity both within the BJP-leaving them guessing as to what is transpiring ahead of the assembly elections- and the Opposition camp led by Samajwadi Party-Congress combine.

As it is the path to the coming assembly elections is strewn with serious hurdles for the BJP in view of rumblings in the party's traditional vote-base. The recent set of developments with the Governor pitching in, taking upon herself the role of opposition rather than remaining within the confines of her Constitutional limits, has led to tongues wagging whether the Yogi will be projected as the CM face for his possible third consecutive term or not. Or is he destined to go the way senior BJP leaders such as Mrs Vasundhara Raje and Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan- both shown the door despite being powerful chief ministers in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. A common thread connecting the three senior leaders of politically important states is that many consider them as possible Prime Ministerial hopefuls. And that has proved to be undoing of Mrs Raje and Mr Chouhan and the phenomena seems to be catching up with Yogi Adityanath.

The significance of Governor Anandiben's diatribe lies in the selection of Gorakhpur which is strongly connected with the chief minister. She seized upon the opportunity to pull up the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, in her capacity as its Chancellor, and local administration over hostel infrastructure and student amenities. Ostensibly, her message was designed to be sent where it was meant to target.   

Apart from Gorakhpur being Yogi Adityanath's seat of power, selecting it to indirectly target him has many dimensions attached to it. After all he was MP from Gorakhpur for five consecutive terms before taking over as the chief ministers. And more importantly, it is home to the Gorakhnath Math of which the Yogi is the powerful head. Could Mrs Anandiben have done this on her own will or she was ordained to do so by the party high command? It is to remember that she was a veteran politician from Gujarat and a senior minister before becoming Governor of one of the most politically significant state Uttar Pradesh which is central to BJP's national politics and ambitions. Well, the Gorakhpur episode was not an isolated outburst by her but it has become significant being the home-turf of the Yogi who is in the eye of storm having managed to pursue a line independent of New Delhi. Credit goes to him for steadfastly standing his ground but that has also, of late, become a reason for him to court problems. Will he be able to offset the effect of these developments focused on him in the run up to not only the assembly election but the subsequent Lok Sabha polls as well?

Ordinarily Modi-Shah duo will never like to off-set the political equilibrium to BJP's disadvantage as the road to victory in 2029 general elections passes through Uttar Pradesh. As it is, the central dispensation is facing plethora of problems including the serious challenge posed by the Gen Z protests propelled by an unknown Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and the resultant strong police action against the protestors at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar which has led to the washing out of the monsoon Session of Parliament on the issue.  Mrs Patel has repeatedly used public platforms to question the functioning of institutions under the state government during the past few weeks. At the Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology in Kanpur on July 10, she raised fingers on the way the agricultural system was responding to farmers. She referred to farmers being given targets for seed production and then being forced to purchase seeds from large companies after meeting those targets. Likewise, in Lucknow University, she has questioned hostel Wi-Fi, drinking water, food quality and maintenance. She has also expressed displeasure over sanitation around academic departments and the Tagore Library.

At King George's Medical University, she questioned the use of expired spice powder in a mess and raised concerns over food and cleanliness. Her intervention prompted the university administration to constitute a special task force for monitoring such facilities. And at Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith in Varanasi, her attention again turned to hostels, messes, food, Wi-Fi and sanitation. On the face of it there is nothing wrong in the Governor intervening in the functioning of such institutions as she is entitled to discharge her responsibilities as Chancellor of state universities and other such institutions. But place, timing and possible motive in the face of approaching assembly elections, certainly raise doubts. However, what makes it more intriguing is the fact that her criticism of the state set-up has moved beyond the confines of universities. During her recent visit to Ayodhya, she did not hesitate to take a swipe at the bureaucratic functioning. Her statement that devotees could get darshan at the Ram Temple more easily than a government file could get cleared, took everyone by surprise. The obvious hint was to the bureaucratic Red-tapism prevalent in the state. Under this garb the obvious target seemed to be the political leadership of the ruling party in UP.

The writer is a policy analyst; Views presented are personal.