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UP AND THE YOGI

Secularism in India has been quite a ‘peculiarism’ since the time present India was born. If at the start of the nation building a sense of belonging had been built based on identity as a citizen instead of continuing on the basis of religion and caste, may be a different India would have emerged today.

A scene comes alive in my mind when I look at the smouldering communal equation - a memory from childhood- seeing a lady trying to light a firewood stove in a tea stall alongside a highway.

She would revive dying embers by blowing on them softly with a hollow pipe right at the center from behind. That worked very well at stoking the fire and in no time the fire would be roaring and ready to heat up even the thickest pot of milk. She had a bamboo fan that she would then use from above to blow the flames further. Sometimes she would add some fuel if she wanted to cook something faster.

Parties like SP (the Papa-Beta combo) and BSP (Behenji version of SP?) have stoked and kept the communal fire in UP alive in a similar manner.. sometimes from behind, sometimes from the front and sometimes by adding fuel in the form of an Azam Khan or an Owaisi. BJP has done likewise with the other side of the coin by propping up people like Yogi Adityanath, Uma Bharti and the ilk.

Whether being at the helm of affairs will mellow down Yogi, and whether the choice of two deputies of differing styles of functioning will help administer stable governance is something only time will tell. However, going by the track record of the states currently under BJP with the remote control resting with the Modi-Shah combo, it appears as though divisive politicking will be kept at bay. “Sabka saath, sabka vikas” - the political agenda has not been contrary to this slogan yet.

While on the face of it the appointment of Yogi Adityanath would appear to be a result of arm-twisting by the RSS, whose relentless efforts have spearheaded the epic UP win, it could be the actual strategy to keep them reined in.

A Yogi given the authority may not abuse his power and position and may find a constructive use to his popularity to provide good governance. While on the other hand, he may not. But why should we put the cart before the horse.

The things in the favor of the new CM are his clean image as far as Modiji's 'Na khayenge, na khane denge' promise holds, his popularity with the masses as proved time and again, by getting elected by the masses and his sway over party sewaks as proved by the selection by voice vote.

BJP and RSS don’t have a strong face to market when they will have to plead for votes in 2024. Given his age and the work pressure he has to deal with, it is highly unlikely that PM Modi may spearhead BJP for another term in 2024. By appointing Yogi as the Chief for the state that sends the largest number of MPs to the parliament, BJP clearly stated that its vision beyond 2019 elections, even though many people might not be ready to accept this fact.

It’s not uncommon that the Prime Minister of the country has come from the Ganges belt, as majority of our primes were from there, and Yogi too comes from a very strategically important region of the same belt. By 2024, Yogi will have 7+ years of experience (Provided BJP wins the state polls again in 2022 which is highly likely), and it might be highly likely that he will be frontrunner for the post of PM.

While definitely BJP would not place all its bets on Yogi, he would definitely be in the race for the chair, given his acceptance and popularity across all the castes (and also religions, given the recent poll results) and his strong incorruptible image (Sounds like Modi? Yes.), while BJP may groom its other potential candidates to lead them forward.

Will the saffron mollify the agitated Hindus or agitate the not-so-mollified Muslims? Will Ayodhya be stoked and fanned or will there be peace? Will the marginalized parties fan the flames from the outside and watch UP burn and let someone else be the fall guy? Will there be good governance? Will the increased seat share in the Rajya Sabha mean more work done?

Only time can tell. Lets wait and watch. ;-)
Cheers :)

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