Monk in a muddle

With the BJP facing a churn in Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath finds himself in a vulnerable position

- PUJA AWASTHI

UTTAR PRADESH CHIEF MINISTER Yogi Adityanath's fortunes are swaying even more than the state's erratic monsoon. On July 22, the Supreme Court stayed his government's order that mandated shop-owners to display names outside shops on the Kanwar Yatra route.

This was strike three, and it hurt where it should-the unapologetically staunch hindutva stance of Yogi. Strike two had happened on July 17, when Yogi had to assure residents of Lucknow's Pantnagar and Indraprastha colonies that their homes would not be razed, and that civic authorities had erred in putting red marks on their houses, which meant that they stood on a flood plain. Barely a month earlier, multi-storey houses on a 24.5 acre plot were razed despite sustained protests. The structures had stood for decades on a flood plain. Strike one had happened on July 16, when an order that made digital attendance of school teachers mandatory was withdrawn after statewide protests.

Yogi no longer seems immovable now. Snapping at his heels is Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who met BJP president J.P. Nadda twice in 24 hours earlier this month. Maurya, a popular leader belonging to the Other Backward Classes, considers himself a natural leader in a state that has a significant OBC population.