Ascendancy of Yogi to the U.P. Throne

It is not surprising that most of the political analysts are dumbstruck with the events that unfolded during the first week of the new Vikram Samvat (the Hindu calendar) 2073. Each year, the Hindu New Year is welcomed with a splash of colors to celebrate the arrival of the new crop. It was natural for the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) workers to be jubilant, that the festival of spring is accompanied by a huge victory with such flying colors, especially in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state. It was quite natural for the workers to be ecstatic, but the party seniors were naturally cautious. Now, no pressure tactics can be deployed in the party and family connection won’t come in handy for seeking promotions. Among the newly elected members, many believed that Pankaj Singh, son of the Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, may get a ministerial berth. He however, could not be adjusted. Similarly, Gopal Tandon, son of a former U.P. minister and member of Parliament, Lalji Tandon , too had expected a berth in the government. However, the aspirations of some senior BJP leaders promoting their family members appear to have received a setback.

Modi Scripts new Politics

It is true that most of the poll predictors and political analysts could not guess that a 44-year old priest, Mahant Adityanath, will be U.P. Chief Minister. Indeed, it is the beginning of a new era. The party under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has successfully scripted a new politics by registering an unprecedented victory in the state. The BJP returns to power in the state after a gap of 14 years, that too with a strength of 325 seats in the 403-strong state legislature.

Many Myths Broken

Five years ago, U.P.’s strong man and Samajwadi leader, Mulayam Singh Yadav, had appointed his son, Akhilesh to lead the state polls and then he was elevated as the chief minister. Akhilesh who was under strict watch of his father and uncles, could not carve out a political strategy to retain the power even on his home turf. On the other hand, Modi and the BJP president, Amit Shah, wrested the power from him. Maybe, his decision to have a poll-alliance with Rahul Gandhi and his party, Indian National Congress, was a big blunder. The Samajwadi-Congress combine could fetch only 54 seats. Another myth that the former chief minister, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has a strong following among the scheduled castes too has been broken. The BSP has now been reduced to 19 seats in the new House. In India's political history, Modi will be remembered for destroying the much-talked myth that political power emanates only from caste and communal permutations and combinations. These calculations are now totally shattered. The Brahmins refusal to vote for Jitin, son of a Jitendra Prasada is a living example of the Congress Party's poor understanding of the caste behavior. He had lost the Lok Sabha seat at Dhaurahra in Lakhimpur Kheri, where he had lost even his deposit. Again, this time the Rahul loyalist contested for an assembly seat in Tilhar in his home district of Shahjahanpur, which he had lost by 5,700 votes. Strict orders from the Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, to maintain zero tolerance toward communal rioters could go a long way in establishing trust with the minority community. He has also instructed that police need not be influenced by any political consideration while handling any criminal activity. Therefore, it is not surprising that Muslims no longer fear RSS sponsored political outfits like BJP. They too want corruption-free system ready to deliver. While the 2017 state polls in five states have trounced non-BJP parties, but BJP also knows if they do not perform, the electorate will promptly punish it too.

The Congress leaders hardly having any understanding of Indian literature fail intellectually to impress the India’s most knowledgeable community, the Brahmins and Kayasthas. These communities were traditionally Congress supporters. Even Rahul needs to study much more about India and her traditions than indulging in unnecessary rhetoric. He forgets that his grandmother, Indira Gandhi, was one of the most well-read Indian leaders. He may not be able to retain the family mantle without devoting adequate time to intellectual pursuits. He is now seen with the tainted leaders of the non-Congress political outfits who had been opposed to Indira Gandhi. In a private conversation, a senior U.P. Congress Leader, stated it is quite funny for Rahul to boast that he would fight against corruption, if Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is serious to end corruption, but he shares the election platform with the tainted leaders. The political mismanagement of the Congress Party now does not need even political scrutiny. However, veteran Congressmen, though yet to be vocal, bemoan the fall of the India’s oldest political outfit, which has already weathered many challenges in its long 125-year-old history. The party stalwarts at the 24-Akbar Road, continue to harp the party’s victory in Punjab, where Captain, Amrinder Singh, trounced the ruling coalition of Akali-BJP, and also able to thwart the menace of the Aam Admi Party (AAP). While the Congress Party has already lost the hill state of Uttarakhand, it is already predicted in the political circles that the party awaits yet another defeat in the adjoining state of Himachal. The victory of Punjab may not impact the political prospects in the state, when the state elections take place. In the east, Orissa is awaiting the victory march of the ruling Bharitya Janata Party (BJP), where the Congress Party had strong political presence at the grass-root level.

Few used to take BJP seriously in the political field in this state. The Congress Party has failed to regain its strenght against the 15-year-old rule of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) led by Naveen Patnaik.

The Goa Flop Show

The lid to this conspiracy has now been exposed for the first time by Vishwajit Rane, a Congress leader and scion of one of the most eminent political family of Goa. His anguish is made vocal in his statement that a power-drunk coterie of the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, and her son, Rahul, a non-performing asset of the erstwhile ruling party of India. The preference of the Congress general secretary, Digvijay Singh, for enjoying Goa’s warm sunny weather is a classical example of the preferences of the people close to the party president, Sonia Gandhi. The Congress party chief had received country-wide appreciation for not accepting the office of the Prime Minister, though she had a majority in Parliament. However, people close to her refuse to learn from her contributions to the party.

The Congress has lost a political opportunity in the state being the largest group in the new assembly, because Digvijay Singh refused to identify a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) to be sworn as the new chief minister. No letter was sent to the governor to assert the party’s claim in this sensitive state, which is conceded to the BJP. Instead of asserting its strong political position in the state legislature before the President Pranab Mukherjee, the Congress Party prefers an appeal before Supreme Court and thus concedes the political game to BJP. The apex court asks why the party did not assert her claim to the office, but the coterie around Sonia is noisy without any rationale.

The Classical Case of Uttarakhand

Few appreciated when former Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna’s sister Rita, a former Mahila Congress president and UP legislator, joined BJP. Many believe that this brother-sister duo was looking for greener pastures to the other side of the political divide, but a closer study reveals that they were unable to meet the growing greed of the party high command. In 2012 state polls, the Congress was able to wrest power from the BJP and it was quite known that the party would elevate Indira Hridesh, who had won the Haldwani assembly seat with the highest margin in the state election, as the new chief minister.

The Inside Story of Manipur

The BJP-led coalition is expected to end the ethnic rivalries in the strifetorn border state. The verdict in the state elections of Manipur is a verdict against the ruling Congress Party for its failure to end the three-month blockade of this remote state by militants. The BJP leaders have been criticizing the Congress for its failure to solve the over three-month-long economic blockade paralyzing the two national highways of this landlocked state.

The participation of Irom Sharmila, who had been lasting for the past 16 years demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, has added a new dimension to the Manipur politics. She broke her fast last year and floated a party, the 'Peoples' Resurgence and Justice Alliance' (PRAJA) - to fight the Assembly elections It is true that she lost the election, but her decision will bring many activists in the election process. She had received less than 100 votes in the election.

Very few could understand in New Delhi, the mood of this remote state of north-east bordering Myanmar. It is true that the sitting Manipur Chief Minister, Okram Ibobi Singh of the Congress party has not only defeated BJP’s Leitanthem Basanta Singh and PRJA Chief, Irom Sharmila, by winning the Thoubal constituency. BJP won 21 seats out of 60 in Manipur assembly elections 2017 and require 10 more seats to form the government. With the support of National People’s Party, Naga People’s Front with four legislators and small parties such as Lok Janashakti Party, Trinamool Congress and an independent, BJP is now forming the new state government. The state governor, Najma Heptullah, a former senior Congress leader, is now being criticized for her decision to invite the BJP to form the government. It is true that Heptullah has always been considered one of the matured parliamentarians during her long innings in Parliament and also as Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. There are few takers of the Congress criticism.