Yogi Adityanath faces dissent after UP bypoll loss

Lucknow: Success has many fathers but failure is an orphan, and a lonely one at that. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath is learning this lesson as voices of dissent get shriller in the ruling BJP after the debacle in Lok Sabha byelections in Gorakhpur and Phulpur.

The monk-turned-politician, who was hailed as an “icon” and a “mass leader” when he took oath as chief minister exactly a year ago, is now being openly targeted by party leaders.

Criticising the chief minister, senior BJP leader and former MP Ramakant Yadav criticised the chief minister and said, “Ek puja path karne wale ko mukhya mantri bana diya gaya… unke bas ka nahin hai sarkar chalana (A priest has been made the chief minister, he is not competent to run the government).”

He alleged that the party had alienated OBCs and dalits and this had  led to its defeat in the bypolls.

BJP MP from Kaiserganj, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, said that some BJP workers actually celebrated the party’s defeat in the byelections as they saw it as a lesson for seniors who had allegedly ignored workers on the ground.

“The time has come for party leaders to do some serious introspection. They should find out why the workers are happy over the party’s defeat,” he said.

BJP’s Allahabad MP Shyama Charan Gupta said that the overconfidence of party leaders was responsible for the electoral loss.

“The remarks made by state minister Nand Gopal Nandi during the campaign, in which he termed Mulayam Singh Yadav as Ravana and Mayawati as Surpnakha were also a major factor in ensuring the party’s defeat,” he said.

Interestingly, the attack on chief minister Mr Adityanath sharpened after BJP leader Subramanian Swamy issued a statement saying that the BJP should think twice before giving important positions to those who cannot even win back their own seat for the party.

State minister Om Prakash Rajbhar, who represents BJP ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, blamed the saffron party for ignoring alliance partners. “The BJP did not seek our help in the byelections and the results have proven their mistake,” he said.

A section of BJP leaders are vociferous in their defending the chief minister.

BJP spokesman I.P. Singh said that the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat was surrounded by constituencies that had Brahmin MPs.

“Gorakhpur party ticket should have been given to a Thakur or an OBC candidate, but the party ignored the advice of the Gorakhnath Mutt and nominated a Brahmin candidate and the results are there for all to see. Why blame Yogi Adityanath for the debacle?”

A senior state minister, who did not wish to be named, alleged sabotage. “The choice of candidate in Gorakhpur was aimed at clipping Yogi Adityanath’s wings. Some people in our party were wary of his growing popularity and made sure that he failed in his own constituency,” he said.