TRIANGLE WITH A SLIGHT SIDE PAIN

Upper storeys upset in UP? There have been signs for a while, but the absence of Yogi's two deputy CMs from a high-profile event in Ayodhya made it conspicuous. How will balance be restored?

- By Avaneesh Mishra

WHEN ALL THE BIG NAMES ASSEMBLED in Ayodhya on Diwali-eve last month for the grand Deepotsav celebrations, the spotlight fell not on the ghats illuminated with over 2.6 million diyas, but on two empty chairs-figuratively speaking. Deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak were conspicuously missing. The episode, which made public a long-speculated schism in the upper echelons of the Yogi Adityanath government, has catalysed debate over its future shape.

Their absence, insiders admit, was no coincidence. Both had reportedly cancelled their visit at the last moment after noticing their names missing from the official advertisements; they had not even been assigned a place in the programme run sheet. The ads, issued by the state information department and published in all major newspapers, featured photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the CM, along with state tourism minister Jaiveer Singh and Ayodhya’s minister-in-charge Surya Pratap Shahi.

Even Governor Anandiben Patel’s name was left out. Some sought to explain it away as “administrative oversight”, but most aren’t buying that, and insiders say the omissions have touched a raw nerve. Both deputy CMs are said to have conveyed their displeasure to the party’s top leadership.

INVERTED PYRAMID