Modi will talk of development while Yogi to keep Hindutva pot boiling: Experts
NEW DELHI: Yogi Adityanath has been selected as the Uttar Pradesh chief minister because the RSS-BJP thinktank believes that he is the best person to continue the momentum of Hindu consolidation through his actions and language, says a well-known political scientist.
Former JNU professor Imtiaz Ahmad said that the UP assembly election was contested with religion at its core. "BJP fears that a huge chunk of OBC voters who voted for the party can move away in future. They feel that Adityanath is the right person to keep the anti-Muslim rhetoric going which is necessary to keep those votes intact for 2019. The RSS-BJP combine believes that he can combine the twin roles of an ultra-orthodox Hindu leader and a CM," Ahmad said.
During the state assembly polls, Adityanath was a major campaigner for the party across UP. The Gorakhpur-based mahant-politician enjoys a substantial following in eastern Uttar Pradesh. In 2002, he had founded the Hindu Yuva Vahini and continues to be its mukhya sangrakshak (chief patron).
Labelled as a socio-cultural outfit, HYV volunteers cum vigilantes are known to use strong-arm tactics during communal riots, gauraksha (cow protection) drives and to prevent `love jihad.'
A decade ago, the outfit had released a cassette of songs one of which went: Hindu Yuva Vahini ne un gaddaron ko lalkara hai, janam liye hain Bharat mein kahte hain Pak hamara hai. The organization's muscular presence is now felt across districts such as Gorakhpur, Mau, Deoria, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar and Siddharthnagar.
Columnist Santosh Desai said Adityanath's choice is surprising as no state leader with any kind of popular following has been chosen as a BJP CM since Narendra Modi became PM in 2014. "BJP's strategy between the 2019 LS polls and now could be of riding two horses where Modi talks development while Adityanath keeps the Hindutva pot boiling," Desai said.
In the UP polls, the BJP and its allies romped home with 325 seats out of 403. BJP alone bagged 312 seats and polled 39.7% votes. The saffron party had not fielded a single Muslim candidate. In Gorakhpur district, which is Adityanath's pocket-borough, the BJP won eight out of nine seats. Social scientist Shiv Viswanathan said that Adityanath represents the new Hindutva aggression."He is quite intolerant and a lethal creature in the communal sense. Making him the CM sends a different kind of signal," he said.
Interestingly, a breakaway faction of the Hindu Yuva Vahini contested the UP state polls in over a dozen assembly seats in east Uttar Pradesh. They failed to make any impression.
Former JNU professor Imtiaz Ahmad said that the UP assembly election was contested with religion at its core. "BJP fears that a huge chunk of OBC voters who voted for the party can move away in future. They feel that Adityanath is the right person to keep the anti-Muslim rhetoric going which is necessary to keep those votes intact for 2019. The RSS-BJP combine believes that he can combine the twin roles of an ultra-orthodox Hindu leader and a CM," Ahmad said.
During the state assembly polls, Adityanath was a major campaigner for the party across UP. The Gorakhpur-based mahant-politician enjoys a substantial following in eastern Uttar Pradesh. In 2002, he had founded the Hindu Yuva Vahini and continues to be its mukhya sangrakshak (chief patron).
Labelled as a socio-cultural outfit, HYV volunteers cum vigilantes are known to use strong-arm tactics during communal riots, gauraksha (cow protection) drives and to prevent `love jihad.'
A decade ago, the outfit had released a cassette of songs one of which went: Hindu Yuva Vahini ne un gaddaron ko lalkara hai, janam liye hain Bharat mein kahte hain Pak hamara hai. The organization's muscular presence is now felt across districts such as Gorakhpur, Mau, Deoria, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar and Siddharthnagar.
Columnist Santosh Desai said Adityanath's choice is surprising as no state leader with any kind of popular following has been chosen as a BJP CM since Narendra Modi became PM in 2014. "BJP's strategy between the 2019 LS polls and now could be of riding two horses where Modi talks development while Adityanath keeps the Hindutva pot boiling," Desai said.
In the UP polls, the BJP and its allies romped home with 325 seats out of 403. BJP alone bagged 312 seats and polled 39.7% votes. The saffron party had not fielded a single Muslim candidate. In Gorakhpur district, which is Adityanath's pocket-borough, the BJP won eight out of nine seats. Social scientist Shiv Viswanathan said that Adityanath represents the new Hindutva aggression."He is quite intolerant and a lethal creature in the communal sense. Making him the CM sends a different kind of signal," he said.
Interestingly, a breakaway faction of the Hindu Yuva Vahini contested the UP state polls in over a dozen assembly seats in east Uttar Pradesh. They failed to make any impression.
More from Uttar Pradesh Election
- Yogi Adityanath sworn in as UP CM, gets two deputies, 47 ministers
- High-command culture grips BJP
- With Yogi Adityanath, BJP seems to be seeking majority consolidation ahead of Lok Sabha polls
- Yogi Adityanath, a Maths graduate who became a sanyasi
- Two deputy CMs of Uttar Pradesh to balance work, caste equation
