Lakhimpur Kheri Killings - Yogi's Big Challenge

The Lakhimpur Kheri incident, which resulted in eight deaths, can scald the BJP’s prospects in the upcoming polls

- Puja Awasthi

ON OCTOBER 3, eight people were left dead in what has been the sourest incident in the recent history of Uttar Pradesh’s sugar bowl—Lakhimpur Kheri. The FIR lodged in the case alleges that Union Minister Ajay Misra’s son Ashish Misra and around 20 unidentified persons fired on farmers and drove three vehicles through a protest padyatra. A judicial inquiry on the violence has been announced by the Uttar Pradesh government, and a facile peace brokered.

Among those killed was a local television journalist, Raman Kashyap. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has tried to douse the flames of the incident swiftly—most notably by cutting offall opposition access to the district and shutting down the internet in the immediate aftermath. There is also an apparent nod to providing monetary compensation and a job for the bereaved families. However, farmers, as a group, are unlikely to let the matter go. Protests have been reported from different states. In Haryana, another BJP-ruled state, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has been called out for making such remarks on protesting farmers that border on the seditious. Other patent BJP narratives, too, have followed—for instance, in widespread sharing of videos and social media posts that offer “evidence” about the “violent” farmers.