UTTAR PRADESH: THE ELECTORAL BATTLEGROUND

The poll bugle for Uttar Pradesh has been sounded from Lakhimpur Kheri after the violent face-off between farmers and the BJP government. The allegation is that three SUVs including one Mahindra Thar driven by a Central Minister’s son ploughed down protesting farmers from behind as they were peacefully marching on the road. Four farmers were killed as were four BJP workers in the clashes that followed. But the provocation against the farmers has been captured on videos and the chilling images are there for all to see.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi was the first to attempt to reach the site undertaking a journey at midnight. She was detained as were Akhilesh Yadav, Satish Mishra and other opposition leaders who tried to reach the spot. The only one who could break through the barricade and reach Lakhimpur Kheri was RLD’s Jayant Chaudhary. While Priyanka seems to have seized the initiative in terms of both the first-mover advantage and also later by releasing a chilling video of the incident, Akhilesh is not far behind. The bugle for the state polls has been sounded and the Lakhimpur Kheri narrative will be hard for the BJP Government to ignore, both at the state and at the centre. Perhaps realising this, one of their own, Varun Gandhi the BJP MP from Pilibhit (uttar pradesh) has written a letter to the Yogi Government asking for a SC monitored probe and demanding that those responsible for the murder of the farmers be booked.

While some in the media have been quick to laud this as Priyanka’s Belchi moment, one has to wait and watch. The Congress General Secretary, like her brother, is known for showing some brilliant flashes of opposition but not following these up later with any consistent action. I was in Lucknow recently and the grouse against her was just this— that despite stating that she would soon shift to Lucknow and lead the party’s charge from there she is still to shift. Moreover, she showed a great deal of initiative in taking on the Yogi government on the issue of providing buses for the migrants and against the CAG, but that was a year ago. Ever since that, she has been largely missing and that too, at a time when the polls are around the corner. Lakhimpur Kheri has provided her the right stage for a reappearance but will Priyanka Gandhi Vadra remain consistent? That is the biggest fear amongst her own party workers.

As for Akhilesh Yadav, he is best placed to take on the Yogi government. Unlike the last elections, he is not embroiled in any factional fight within his own party and the family. His sway over both is complete and in all probability, his uncle Shivpal Yadav will soon return to the party fold under Akhilesh’s leadership. Last elections, the SP also `wasted’ 105 seats by giving these to Congress in the ill-fated alliance. This time there will be no such tie-up. Also, during the last assembly polls, Mayawati managed to wrest the Muslim vote away. This time the buzz in Lucknow is that the BSP has come to some `understanding’ with the BJP. Already BSP leaders are defecting to join the SP. So, without the baggage of 2017, there is a much more confident Akhilesh holding sway from his office at the Janeshwar Mishra Trust at Lucknow’s Kalidas Marg.

But let’s not forget Lakhimpur Kheri and the impact it will have on the Yogi Government. So far the Central Minister Ajay Misra and his son Ashish Misra are denying that they were on the spot that this happened. But can the Yogi government ignore the videos that are going viral on social media? Will the PM allow the situation to fester or will he step in?