UP will decide the political futures of CM Yogi, Akhilesh

New Delhi: The electoral mercury is rising in Uttar Pradesh gradually, with the political future of leaders such as Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, SP Chief Minister candidate Akhilesh Yadav and Congress “face” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at stake.The UP’s battle is also important for the future of the political parties. With this in view, the BJP is sparing no effort to return to power in the state. At the same time, Akhilesh Yadav is aware that the survival of Samajwadi Party will be quite challenging, like the Bahujan Samaj Party, if it loses the battle. However, the Congress will not be affected that badly if it loses, but Priyanka’s capability will be under question. Priyanka is said to be keen to ensure that the Congress gets a double-digit seat share and vote percentage. Congress leaders who are unhappy with the present leadership are also looking towards Priyanka with some hope. These leaders see glimpses of Indira Gandhi in her. They are said to be of the view that Priyanka should take charge of the party.
However, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been unable to make an impact in UP until now. That she went on a vacation in the midst of the election season gave her opponents the opportunity to highlight her “lack of seriousness”. Moreover, Priyanka’s confusing reply to the query about Congress’ Chief Minister face for UP did not go down well with the people. She could have projected herself as the party’s face without beating about the bush while releasing the manifesto. Observers believe that Priyanka’s inability to prove her seriousness about politics in UP prevented the party from projecting her as CM face for now. If Priyanka had gone ahead with the working style of the senior leaders of the party, the Congress would have been visible in the fight in UP. But she seems to have lost the opportunity to prove her mettle. The Congress would have been the main rival of the BJP in the election, if Priyanka had projected herself as the CM face of the party and taken the lead role in various agitations like Mamata Banerjee did in West Bengal.
But Priyanka gave the front seat to Ajay Kumar Lallu, who was not taken seriously by others.
Observers wonder why the Gandhi family shies away from taking charge of the party’ in the largest state of the Hindi belt. Moreover, Priyanka’s decision to give 40% of tickets to women is beyond comprehension. What the Gandhis are ignoring is that the political situation has undergone a sea change, with several political parties emerging stronger than Congress. The BJP’s central leadership is also always active.SP leader Akhilesh Yadav chose to follow the politics of the Congress and remained inactive during the last four years. He got active only when the elections were just a few months away. His mistake was getting entangled in caste politics. He was apparently relying on a team abroad to prepare a strategy like in 2012. But that does not seem to be working. Observers say that SP’s selection of candidates in western UP is not good enough. The BJP is working towards voter polarisation in eastern UP. Yogi’s image is that of a strong administrator, and he is being seen as a leader having PM material. Apart from this, PM Narendra Modi is a strong leader on whom BJP is banking. PM Modi knows the importance of UP from the national perspective. The Modi government has invested a lot of resources for the development of UP.