The 2022 assembly polls are no different.
Yogi Adityanath, who initiated his career opposing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in his hometown of Gorakhpur, was a surprise pick for the state’s top post. But he quickly proved to be a tough ruler, unabashed about his beliefs. Thus, he has un-apologetically refused to wear skull caps, has been a loud votary of Hindu pride and talks in the only language that criminals understand. Of the last, his ‘thok do (shoot them)’ remark is perhaps as well-known as it is criticised.
Under him, the state has initiated legislation that other states have emulated (like the law on illegal religious conversion), aggressively invited investment and taken on a bureaucracy that has always lumbered to its own diktats.
The BJP is banking on hindutva pride and development to win this election. Unlike the last Lok Sabha election, nationalism is not an issue, at least not as yet. Sidharth Nath Singh, the state’s cabinet minister for micro, small and medium enterprises, investment and export, said that there were “two parallelly strong aspects” that would benefit the BJP. “The first is the manner in which law and order has improved and people can go about their daily lives and businesses. The second is the all-round development that is visible in the state,” he said.
This story is from the February 27, 2022 edition of THE WEEK.
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This story is from the February 27, 2022 edition of THE WEEK.
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