A viral video of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at a meeting in Delhi, not greeting the Prime Minister and Home Minister as they walked past, while saying ‘namaste’ to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, has blown open the rift in the top echelons of the BJP.
For a party that prides itself on strict discipline, the war in the Uttar Pradesh BJP since the general election results has been nothing short of a shocker.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath finds himself in the line of fire after the unexpected setback for the party in the state which sends the largest number of MPs to Parliament. Now the knives are out, with Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya taking the lead in making barbs at Adityanath.
In Delhi, the rumour mills have been abuzz about reported differences between the UP Chief Minister and Home Minister Amit Shah. The viral video cemented that belief. As BJP insiders say, there is no way Keshav Maurya would have had the guts to take jibes at the Chief Minister without the blessings of the top party leadership in Delhi.
Ripple effect
The differences have rattled the rest of the BJP ahead of crucial state polls in the next couple of months. In these states such as Maharashtra and Haryana, the BJP also faces infighting and what is happening in UP could have a ripple effect.
One of the biggest complaints state leaders have is that Delhi is deciding everything for them, that state leaders are sidelined while new entrants into the party from the opposition are given plum positions. Even ticket distribution is done from Delhi. This was a big complaint in UP but has echoes everywhere.
Over the last decade, the BJP has been firmly under the grip of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Party President JP Nadda is there in name only. Under this highly centralised model, strong regional leaders of the BJP have been cut down to size.
Four-time Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan, who was not allowed another term despite winning the state against all odds last year but has finally been rehabilitated as the union agriculture minister. Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia, was shown her place and sidelined.
Everything at stake
As was former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh. But Yogi Adityanath is no Shivraj Chouhan or Vasundhara Raje. As the Hindutva poster boy of the BJP, he has been the undisputed leader of UP since his first stint as Chief Minister in 2017.
After Modi, he is the most popular leader in the BJP. His use of police encounters and bulldozers without due process have made him a hero for the right wing. Yogi’s supporters stress that he is still the most popular BJP face in UP and that previous experiments by the party to remove leaders — like Kalyan Singh or BS Yediyurappa- failed and hurt the party in the long run.
Speaking in the UP assembly days ago, Yogi Adityanath made a telling comment during a discussion on bulldozers. “This is not a fight for prestige”, he said. “I get more prestige in my mutt”. This was, in a way, a dare to the party to sack him.
All eyes are now on byelections to 10 assembly seats in UP. Everything is at stake for the BJP this time. Perhaps even Adityanath’s future.
