It was Modi’s unbeatable charm that propelled BJP to a massive mandate, the biggest in 2 decades. BJP didn’t just match the expectations that it had set with the 2014 General Elections, it in fact bettered its score. Scoring 325 out of 403 seats in the most populous state of India which speaks as many as 9 different dialects of Hindi, has an average population density of 828 persons per km², has more caste groups than one can count and is a mini country in itself is no mean feat. And one must commend the unbeatable duo of Amit Shah and Narendra Modi for the Historic Victory but they knew that another big game waited for them.
BJP took 1 week to zero down on a name who would represent them in the state of Uttar Pradesh and at the end of it all, it was the Hindu Hriday Samrat from Gorakhpur who claimed the throne.
So, what could have been the factors that tilted the odds in favour of Yogi Adityanath:
- Massive Mandate – A Party in a commanding position tends to take bolder decisions than it can in case of weaker and fractured Mandates. Yogi’s ascension was always going to be a risky move, but the massive mandate removed every bit of doubt from BJP’s minds.
- Yogi Adityanath: A grass root level leader and a son of soil – Yogi is no newbie, he has won the Gorakhpur seat 5 times. He is literally invincible on his own ground. Yogi Adityanath has a massive clout in the 60 Vidhan Sabha seats in Poorvanchal, a factor which differentiates him from all other contenders
- Hindu Hriday Samrat – Yogi Adityanath is the face of Hindutva in Uttar Pradesh. From his saffron clad self, to his strong support of the Hindutva cause, Yogi is considered the ruler of Hindu hearts in UP and in most parts of India. Yogi Adityanath has been a strong proponent of a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and it seems that his tenure would finally fulfil the dream of every Hindu in the country.
While Media would want you to believe that it was Modi’s Vikas agenda that trumped everything else in UP Elections, I would say that it is only partially correct. UP Election was the fightback of United Hindu voters and the results clearly showed that. The ascension of Yogi Adiyanath resonates with the emotions of the UP Wallahs.
- The Focus on Poorvanchal: UP cannot prosper unless Poorvanchal prospers. Poorvanchal scores very low on all developmental parameters. Its per capita income is half of that of West UP and it has very few urban centres.
So, it was certain that PM Modi’s natural choice of a CM had to be a strong leader from Pooranchal, this was the very reason why Manoj Sinha was also being considered as a strong contender. But in the end, it was Yogi Adityanath who passed with flying colors.