UP bypoll defeats spark rumblings against Yogi Adityanath

New Delhi/Lucknow: Knives are out in the BJP following the party’s defeat by the united Opposition in the bypolls held recently. 

The Congress and other Opposition parties also termed the jolt to the BJP as the people’s mandate against the four years of Modi rule and that the Prime Minister's “magic” was on the wane.

Union Minister, Prakash Javadekar, however, denied that the Modi magic was on the wane and claimed that the BJP will return to power at the Centre even stronger in 2019.  

“Modi was not in the picture in the bypolls. He did not go anywhere. So it shouldn’t be perceived as a verdict on his government,” the minister said.

A day after the bypolls loss, BJP president Amit Shah held a meeting of national general secretaries to discuss the rout and Karnataka polls where the party failed to get a simple majority.

After the bypoll loss, while party MLAs openly questioned Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s leadership, there were reports that the party cadre too was not happy with the U.P leadership, including many ministers.

Many state leaders admitted that despite knowing beforehand that the sugarcane issue in the region could dent the party’s poll prospects, and caste politics will play a crucial role, party’s poll managers did not take necessary measures. 

Yogi Adityanath-led government’s “failure” to “rein in” the state bureaucracy was also said to be one of the reasons behind the BJP’s poll loss after the Gorakhpur and Phulpur parliamentary seats in March. 

If a united Opposition poses more problems for the saffron party, its poll managers will have to seriously relook at the caste and social combination in states as well.