Last year, the BJP rode to power in the state of Uttar Pradesh. In the last one year, the Yogi Government has gone into an overdrive on several fronts. While the media has only highlighted (or in some cases criticized) the government’s spree against lawlessness and gangsters in the state, the Yogi Government has also performed brilliantly on other fronts such as better availability of electricity, municipal services, the economy, etc. The last one year has been instrumental in changing the image of Uttar Pradesh. It is now viewed as a state with great potential and under an able leadership. The Yogi government is cleaning up the mess created by its predecessors.
These claims are substantiated by the results of a recent survey conducted by LocalCircles, a social network of sorts where citizens from a particular area come together on issues of governance. The survey has confirmed the popularity of chief minister Yogi Adityanath and the BJP government in the state.
Half of the respondents in the survey have confirmed that the Yogi government’s performance has either fulfilled or exceeded their expectations. The most visible impact seems to be in the law and order situation of the state. 70 per cent of the respondents have stated that the law and order situation has improved.
In fact, one-third of the respondents are of the view that the situation has improved significantly. More than half the respondents believe that there has been a reduction in crimes committed against women in the state. Only a negligible nine percent are of the opinion that there has been a rise in such crimes.
As stated earlier, the change in Uttar Pradesh is not limited to the improvement in the law and order situation. When it comes to power supply, the opinion of the respondents has been as overwhelming, if not more. Around eighty per cent of the respondents are of the view that there has been an improvement in electricity supply, while 46 per cent of the total respondents believe that there has been a remarkable improvement.
Despite the entire hustle and bustle created by sections of the media with regard to an alleged stagnation in job-creation, it seems that the people of Uttar Pradesh have a different story to say. An overwhelming 67 per cent of the respondents were of the opinion that there is improvement in job generation in the state.
Another underrated achievement of the Yogi government is to make Uttar Pradesh a suitable place for investment and business activities. Around three-fourths of the respondents are of the opinion that the ease of doing business in the state has improved under the Yogi regime. This can be described as a byproduct of the improvement in the general administration of the state. With a better law and order situation accompanied with robust power supply and fewer outages, businesses are automatically attracted towards the state.
However, the only grey areas were healthcare and corruption. These are the only sectors of governance where less than half of the respondents have confirmed any improvement. But even in these areas, more than 40 per cent of the respondents are satisfied with the government’s efforts. This suggests that things are actually changing for the better, and another year down the line the government might be able to achieve on these fronts what it has achieved on other fronts.
This survey must come as a shock to Yogi-haters and a section of prejudiced political commentators who have made the mistake of writing off Yogi Adityanath after the recent by-poll defeat. It seems that the people of Uttar Pradesh are mighty impressed with the government of the day. Uttar Pradesh will no longer be the infamous state that it used to be. Gunda-raj will be replaced by the rule of law, while power outages will be replaced by uninterrupted three-phase power supply if the Yogi government continues to perform like it has in the last one year, and garner the kind of public support that it is currently enjoying.