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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has dismissed speculation of a rift within the BJP top brass as a “media creation.”
In an interview to Times of India, Adityanath said that the meetings within the BJP were given a “political spin” to “sensationalise” and “grab eyeballs.”
There was also a rumour that the state BJP had removed the PM's picture from a social media graphic, which turned out to be false.
Last week, The Quint had reported that at least three important meetings took place regarding the BJP's affairs in Uttar Pradesh:
Following the last set of meetings, Santhosh put out a tweet praising Adityanath's leadership, which signaled that the BJP has decided to persist with his leadership in the run-up to the 2022 Assembly elections.
Radha Mohan Singh met UP governor Anandiben Patel over the weekend and political circles in Lucknow were abuzz with rumours that he had given her an “envelope.”
Then, the PM failing to wish Adityanath on his birthday also raised questions as to why he had departed from his usual practise.
BJP sources said that this was because of the pandemic and that the PM had actually wished Adityanath over phone. However, it remains suspicious as it’s not as if the PM had completely stopped making courtesy wishes over Twitter during the pandemic's second wave.
A variety of rumours were doing the rounds in UP’s political circles. Though they ranged from conservative to outlandish, their broad thrust was the same – that the status quo in UP may not remain for long. Here are some of the rumours:
Obviously, only one or two, or even none of the rumours may turn out to be true.
It is important to understand the context in which this is happening, which is the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
With neither Modi or Yogi coming out with flying colours in their handling of the COVID crisis, both are on a weak wicket. PM Modi's speech, on 7 June, was a u-turn from his policy of leaving the vaccination process to states. This happened after his government faced flak from the Supreme Court. The PM and Shah’s political capital also reduced following the defeat in West Bengal.
And like Modi and Shah, Yogi too has suffered an electoral reverse in the recent Panchayat elections.
Given that both the Centre and Yogi are under fire, neither seem to have been in a position to act decisively against the other.
What happens next will be determined by whose political position gets strengthened in the next few weeks and months.
For instance, PM Modi's spin doctors are hoping that the 'vaccination for all' promise and the PM's announcement that the Centre would provide rations to the poor until Diwali could help him regain the popularity he may have lost during the second wave.
It is possible that the next round between the two sides could be played in a few weeks from now.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
Published: 08 Jun 2021,07:51 PM IST