GOINGS-ON ON THE GOMTI

In politics as in art, a lot of effort goes into making something look effortless.

- Prashant Srivastava

The BJP's runaway victory in the assembly election early this year may have deluded the casual observer into thinking 2024 would be a cinch-that a saffron wash over Uttar Pradesh's 80 Lok Sabha seats was a fait accompli-but party strategists know nothing is inevitable. For one, the BJP's chief rival, Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, had paradoxically had its best outing ever in terms of votes and vote share-7.5 million more than its 2012 win, and a robust 32.06 per cent. To stay ahead, the BJP just has to get its engineering right, both at the top and in terms of its social base. If, uncharacteristically, a shadow of conflict was visible over the first, the second still had gaps.

Last week's organisational reshuffle-with Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary coming in as the state president and Dharampal Singh as general secretary (organisation)-sought to address both needs at once. The two new helmsmen are from western UP, so their conscription is aimed at striking a regional balance, given that both Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya are associated with the east.