Modi + Yogi = BJP's New Winning Formula

IF THERE WAS A TURNING POINT behind the historic back-to-back victories of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, it came late last year and under the most unusual of circumstances.

- Raj Chengappa

In November 2021, just before the saffron party formally launched its campaign for the election to the state assembly, there were loud rumblings against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath within the party. The word was that the mahant-turned-politician was arrogant and ran the state government pretty much as his own fiefdom without involving cabinet colleagues in decisions or accommodating the party’s sensitivities. Some even called for a change of CM as had been done in neighbouring Uttarakhand as well as in Gujarat and distant Karnataka. It was at this point that Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to step in and throw his weight decisively behind the saffron-clad monk.

Few would claim to know Modi’s mind or how it works. But the prime minister is said to arrive at decisions only after considering the feedback from key party colleagues and his own assessment of a situation. While Yogi had his shortcomings, he had also run UP with an iron hand, cracking down on big mafia gangs that earlier operated with impunity. This even earned him the moniker of ‘Bulldozer Baba’. That many members of these gangs were Muslims cemented Yogi’s image as a hardline Hindutva icon, one that he had assiduously projected. It included his strident campaign against so-called ‘love jihad’ or interfaith relationships. More importantly for Modi, Yogi had successfully implemented the score of welfare measures the PM had launched. Particularly the free rations scheme, which provided every cardholder not just grains but pulses and cooking oil too to tide over the pandemic. With the 2024 election just two years away, a decisive win in Uttar Pradesh was critical for Modi and the BJP to bolster its chances for re-election.