Bias or Tactic? Why Yogi Adityanath Picks on Yadavs & Muslims Accused of Crimes

UP CM Adityanath's focus on Yadav criminals could be a move to attract non-Yadav OBC votes before bypolls.

A three-year-old girl was raped by a 50-year-old man in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. The ghastly incident took place on 27 July. The accused identified as Ashok Singh alias Billa - who has over 22 past cases in his name, including murder - was arrested a day later.

While the Ghazipur police acted swiftly and filed chargesheet within a week, it is was around the same time a rape case in Ayodhya made the headlines. Despite the police's success, the Uttar Pradesh government chose to focus more on the Ayodhya case than the Ghazipur one and the reasons for that are said to be political.

Of late Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been highlighting crimes where the accused is either a Muslim or a Yadav.

In at least one instance, the CM even made a statement cherry-picking a Yadav and a Muslim from a group of accused persons belonging to different caste groups.

Let's take a look at the CM's statements and the politics behind them.

CM Yogi Adityanath's Statements

While several cases of rapes and heinous crimes were reported across the state, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath while speaking in the assembly on 1 August 2024, elaborated on two cases - one in Ayodhya, another in Hardoi; and the infamous Gomtinagar harrassment case. Speaking on these cases, CM Adityanath listed out names of the accused in these cases - either a Yadav or a Muslim.

"This case is from Ayodhya where Moin Khan, a Samajwadi party leader and member of the Ayodhya MP's team. He is one of the accused in the rape of a 12-year-old girl. Samajwadi Party has still not taken any action against him. I am still trying to figure out why? Should we not mention Samajwadi Party here?" CM Adityanath said in the UP Assembly. His statement was accompanied by loud "Shame, shame!" cheers from the ruling party legislators.

Another such case was the shocking murder of lawyer Kanishka Malhotra in Hardoi district on 30 July. She was allegedly killed due to a property dispute.

The accused allegedly hired contract killers to kill Malhotra. In the probe, it was claimed that Adityabhan Singh alias Uday Bhan, former SP district president Virendra Yadav, Shikhar Gupta and Nripendra Tripathi were the main accused who hired the killers to kill Malhotra. However, while speaking in the UP assembly, the highlighted only Virendra Yadav's name.

"And incident that happened in Hardoi Virendra Yadav alias Virey, former district president of the Samajwadi Party...look what kind of person you appoint as district president. There is not one section of IPC or CrPC left which has not been slapped on him. There are 28 cases registered against him. It's not that they were registered between 2017-2024. First case was registered against him in 1989, second in 1991, third in 1991, fourth in 1991, fifth in 1992.." CM Adityanath said while reading out Yadav's history sheet from a paper in the assembly.

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In the infamous Gomtinagar case in which a group of men harassed and groped a woman stuck on an inundated road near the Taj hotel underpass, CM Adityanath cherry-picked names of two suspects - Pawan Yadav and Mohammad Arbaaz. At that time, four people had been arrested and the other two belonged to non-Yadav caste groups within Hindus.

Eventually, around a dozen men were arrested in the case, belonging to different caste groups.

While the BJP's position on Muslims is well known, what has surprised many is how Yadavs also are being targeted in such statements, especially when nationally the BJP has been trying to woo the community.

BJP Luring Non-Yadav OBCs?

One of the biggest moves made by the BJP to woo Yadavs was the appointment of Mohan Yadav as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh in 2023. As expected, Mohan Yadav made several campaign trips to UP, including SP bastions, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year. Though the results were not encouraging for the party, it was evident that the central leadership wanted a piece of the formidable Yadav bank which has largely remained loyal to the Samajwadi party.

However, UP CM Yogi Adityanath's tactic of naming and shaming Yadav suspects accused in heinous crimes has raised a few eyebrows.

Experts believe this could be part of a well thought-out strategy to win over non-Yadav OBCs and make a dent in the PDA (Pichhda Dalit Alpsankhak or OBC, Dalit and Minority) base that Akhilesh Yadav is trying to build. Yadav's strategy was reasonably successful during the recent Lok Sabha elections, especially the manner in which the SP and Congress made 'saving the Constitution' and 'protecting reservations' a plank.

Speaking to The Quint, senior journalist Ratanmani Lal said, "Because of the numerical strength of the Yadavs, non-Yadav OBCs claim to have suffered. Targeting Yadavs appeases non-Yadav OBCs. As far as UP is concerned, because non-Yadav OBCs like Kurmis, Lodhs, Patels and Kushwahas have always felt that Yadavs get a large share of government jobs and dominate sectors like dairy, farming, auto-ancillary, showrooms and so on".

"It was a very well chosen and deliberate move to name Yadavs along with Muslims so that a message goes to other OBC that Yadavs are being identified not only as numerically superior, but also as aggressive and lawbreakers," Ratanmani Lal said

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Will This Impact the Upcoming Bypolls?

This issue assumes significance in the run-up to the bypolls to 10 Assembly constituencies. After the Lok Sabha debacle, all eyes are on CM Yogi Adityanath to set the house in order.

Of the 10 seats up for grabs, five - Karhal, Milkipur, Kathehari, Kundari and Sisamau seats - were earlier held by SP legislators. While CM Yogi Adityanath has been personally taking stock of preparations on these seats, several senior ministers have been pressed into action as well.

CM Adityanath's strategy is a risky one. It is possible that he may succeed in winning back the non-Yadav OBCs who had drifted away from the party during the Lok Sabha elections. However, the targeting may lead to complete consolidation of Yadavs and Muslims behind the SP-Congress alliance. And if the BJP doesn't win back non-Yadav OBCs to the extent they hope, the bypolls may end up going the same way as the Lok Sabha elections.