March 18, 2017. It was already 5 pm and all 325 MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies, after their landslide victory, had assembled at the conference hall of the newly built Lok Bhawan in Lucknow. They had to elect the leader of the legislature party, who would become the next chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. But they still had no idea who they were going to elect.
This was an unprecedented situation. Even after sweeping the elections with nearly three-fourth seats and 42 per cent vote share exactly a week ago, BJP was yet to announce its CM candidate. This kind of indecisiveness has been seen in case of coalition governments, but here it was a saffron tsunami. There were several names doing the rounds and multiple theories behind their worthiness; but no consensus. So much so that even the legislature party meeting was called without making the name official.
The only thing the MLAs of the BJP and its two allies did know was that senior most legislator Suresh Khanna would propose a name which a clutch of other senior legislators would endorse. But, lo and behold, till 5.30 pm even Khanna was not aware whose name he was going to announce. This was the time two Central observers—then I&B Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and BJP national general secretary Bhupendra Yadav—made an entry, closely followed by then state BJP chief Keshav Maurya, organisation secretary Sunil Bansal, state in-charge Om Mathur, and Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath.
All heads turned when saffron-robed Yogi entered the auditorium. He was not known for attending even normal party meetings. So, why was he here? Maybe, the party had mandated him to propose the name of the CM, they thought.
But, there was a wave of elation, with dollops of astonishment when Khanna announced Yogi’s name as the next CM.Although Yogi had been a five-time MP and the most popular BJP leader in eastern UP, his elevation to the CM’s chair triggered a tide of ‘shock and awe’. Even BJP supporters, who were expecting some ‘moderate face’ with a known development-oriented credentials to take the charge, were taken by surprise when the party chose its firebrand face for the coronation in UP, politically and population-wise the most crucial state of the country.
For Yogi, an odd man in the BJP’s state unit and largely an alien to the bureaucracy, it was an insurmountable battle of perception built up on the basis of his fiery speeches and quotes, many of them in reply to leading questions.His detractors, even now, say that people were deceived by the BJP. “BJP lied to the people of the state. Selection of Yogi Adityanath as CM was kept a close secret till the last. Had they opened their cards at the time of election, people would not have voted for the party so overwhelmingly,” says former minister and senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Rajendra Chaudhary.
What is more, the international media too appeared aghast by the decision of the BJP leadership. The New York Times wrote on March 19: “The choice of Yogi Adityanath—who has been repeatedly accused of stirring anti-Muslim sentiments—to lead Uttar Pradesh, came as a shock to many political observers here, who have become accustomed to the carefully moderated public positions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in line with his projected image as a pro-development leader and global statesman.”
Al Jazeera said: “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing party has picked a controversial firebrand leader to head India’s most populous state, where it won a landslide victory last week.”
“When elections were going on, nobody had expected that Yogi Adityanath would become the CM. More so when he was supposedly a controversial figure owing to his earlier rhetoric, repartee and statements. Coming from a humble background, he became the first choice of the BJP leadership,” says JP Shukla, a political commentator, adding that the mystery behind his selection bewildered many.
Clearly, all those who had conjured his image on the basis of his speeches and were expecting him to unleash an unabashed rule of Hindutva were in for a big disappointment. Yogi was on the job right after his election as the BJP legislature party chief.
“He has rather strengthened the theory of cultural nationalism propounded by LK Advani at one point in time riding which the BJP witnessed its political advancement in the country. Adityanath has very tactfully propagated a positive Hindutva in the state after taking over as chief minister without intimidating or humbling the minorities,” maintains Shukla.
Beyond this battle of perception, there were several other challenges waiting to test his mettle as the head of India’s biggest state. The first and foremost was an alien bureaucracy. Yogi’s politics had always centred around Gorakhpur, or in Parliament. He refrained from playing any big role in state politics till 2013, when Amit Shah became the state in charge and roped him in for 2014 Lok Sabha elections as a star campaigner.
“On the contrary, there was a sense of uncertainty among officers. Bureaucrats were rather wary of this firebrand parliamentarian with hardcore Hindutva image as they had no idea of his administrative skills,” says a senior IAS officer.
Besides, he chose not to follow the previous governments’ way of summarily replacing key babus just after taking over. From the DGP to the chief secretary, other officers at crucial posts even at the lower level were allowed to continue for quite some time. “Why replace officers? Shall show that I can get work done from them also,” Yogi had replied when asked about his lack of interest in getting ‘loyal’ officers to key posts.
But a spiralling crime graph in months after his ascendance, the failure to achieve the target of making 1.20 lakh km roads pothole-free in the first 100 days and the criticism that his government’s anti-Romeo squads received for their occasional high-handedness proved that he was not right in gauging the way UP bureaucracy functions. All those who were not shifted after the arrival of the new government were caught by uncertainty thinking that if not immediately, they would eventually be transferred after some time. So, they stopped working and, as a result, the government didn’t take the start on ground the way Yogi had planned.
However, Yogi was in an overdrive right after his swearing-in on March 19. His scheme of things and perceptions of endeavours ahead had started unfolding merely within an hour of taking oath of office and secrecy. With transparency on top of his mind, his first directive was for his ministers to declare their assets and keep the slate clean. Next evening, senior bureaucrats were lined up and administered the oath of cleanliness by the CM himself. The gesture sent a terse message down the line that ignorance of ‘swachhta’ would be construed as ignoring the CM.
Yogi had hit the ground running and his decisions, one after the other, were not only unnerving the rivals, but also leaving the political experts and voters amused.The next major decision setting the socio-political circles of UP aflutter was crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses. Over 100 of them were closed and shutters were down on over 50,000 meat shops and suddenly the state was in throes of an unimaginable meat crisis. The Allahabad High Court came to the rescue of non-vegetarians cautioning the government against trying to change the food habits of the people.
Nonetheless, initial diktats on cleanliness on the office premises, installation of biometric devices for staff attendance, crackdown on slaughterhouses and setting up of anti-Romeo squads gave not only a testimony to the palpable change in the state’s air but also spelt out Yogi’s intentions to deliver on promises.
Governance comes to him naturally. The Chhote Maharaj of Gorakhdham Peeth till yesterday is all-powerful CM now. But all through this journey, Yogi never ceased to be a sadhak. Seen as an embodiment of religion beguilingly blended with politics, he draws reverence both as a spiritual figure, and a gritty administrator who means business.
“He is a man of steely grit and firm determination. He is a CM of all sections and is ably moving ahead with the motto of ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas’,” states VHP leader Sharad Sharma, who believes that with Lord Ram in his heart and Ayodhya on focus, he is quite capable of delivering on his commitments.
However, some see a design in his style of functioning. “Immediately, after taking over as CM, the state was caught in caste conflagration in Saharanpur in April. Five persons lost life. Dalits were persecuted and subjected to all kinds of atrocities,” says SR Darapuri, a Dalit ideologue. He adds that under Yogi, both Dalits and Muslims are feeling insecure as the right wing forces are in high spirits and the CM is moving ahead to saffronise the state and furthering the Hindutva agenda.
“Yogi’s Independence Day diktats for madrasas seeking them to sing the national anthem and national song, and getting the function videographed to be sent to authorities as proof were seen as an act of intimidation of minorities,” says Mohammad Shahid of SP. Announcing NCERT books to be part of madrasa curriculum is another tool to interfere in minorities’ affairs, he adds.Agrees senior Congress leader Dwijendra Tripathi: “Under this government, the communal divide has increased manifold with minorities being in a state of suspicion.”
Clean governance has been a milestone of the Yogi government. His tough posturing against corruption has kept his dispensation majorly graft-free and he has been so far able to deliver a steady pace of development. “His aggressiveness in governance and guts to set stiff targets with unimaginably short deadlines forced others to perform and achieve what could never be done before like making around 63 per cent of the targeted 1.20 lakh km roads pothole-free till June 15,” observes Ashutosh Mishra, a political scientist.
To rid the system of the age-old babu culture, caution was sent across against sitting over files as a habit. Instructions from the CM’s office were handed out to officers that files would not be taken to home and disposal would have to be ensured within three working days of the receiving. If not, they had to give explanations. The system was further streamlined—CCTV cameras were installed in government offices leaving little chance for usual post-lunch siesta.
Yogi’s evening departmental review presentations just after taking over, which commence at 6 pm and continue till past midnight, were a talk of the town. “They were the classes on governance during which we got to know the nuances of running the system efficiently. We did get dressing-downs but it helped us keep ourselves updated on programmes of our departments,” says a minister of state.
In the melee of his newly assumed role, Yogi never forgot his crusade against Japanese Encephalitis having devoured thousands in and around Gorakhpur. To rein in the disease, he launched a vaccination drive across 38 districts covering around 90 lakh.
But the same JE put a question mark on his governance in August when over 23 children died at BRD Medical College in his Gorakhpur within a span of 24 hours when oxygen supply was interrupted. Yogi ordered a crackdown on the BRD administration; all the senior authorities of the hospital along with the oxygen suppliers are now behind bars.
“It was uncalled-for and a cruel reality that callousness of this level was exposed in CM’s own den (Gorakhpur). It showed how insensitive his government was and how shamelessly they could play with the life of so many children,” says senior SP leader Mohammad Shahid.
This was not all. More embarrassing moments were there in store for Yogi. The controversy over the Taj Mahal set the socio-political circles of the country aflutter and spotlight was on the CM. After his government’s faux pass of coming out with a Taj-less brochure of tourism, incendiary and disparaging comments from his own partymen, including Sardhana MLA Sangeet Som, state Cabinet Minister for Culture and Minority Welfare Chaudhary Laxmi Narain, BJP Rajya Sabha member Vinay Katiyar, Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma and Banda MLA Brijesh Pal, added fuel to fire.
But Yogi salvaged the situation deftly by not only becoming the first BJP CM to visit the White Marvel but also announcing a slew of projects to spruce up the area around the monument. However, the fact is that he himself had started the debate early this year while speaking in Bihar when he said that the Taj can’t represent Indian culture.
Law and order has been another hot spot for the new dispensation. Having stormed to power on the promise to control crime, nothing was falling in place. Criminals were striking at will and crime graph was soaring untamed. Moreover, Hindu fringe organisations and Gau Rakshak Dals were making the going tougher for the CM.
After initial tentativeness in the police administration, Yogi’s focus on law and order is now showing. The free hand that he has given to the police has resulted in over 550 encounters in which over two dozen outlaws have been neutralised. Although the drive has earned some brickbats and even a notice from the National Human Rights Commission, the government is undeterred. Even the stringent Uttar Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Act (UPCOCA) has been given a Cabinet nod. “He is using encounters as a weapon to control crime in the state,” says Darapuri.
Yogi has reflected the much-wanted courage to take tough decisions and get them implemented without even caring for the criticism. In the first eight months, he has been able to establish a perfect balance with the Centre and the RSS. Days after taking over, his government signed an agreement with the Centre for ‘power for all’ and since then there has been a marked improvement in the power scenario in the state. Two visits by a high-powered team of Niti Aayog, led by its Vice Chairman and CEO, to draw a roadmap for the state’s development and ensure speedy implementation of welfare schemes is enough a clue to equation Yogi shares with the Centre.
While Sangh had been a major factor behind his anointment, he has risen up to all its expectations by keeping the Ram temple issue alive and playing all Hindutva cards right. His decision to hold a grand Diwali in Ayodhya and announcement to organise an equally grand Holi in Vrindavan has set the tone for days to come when the party would rake up these issues before 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, in no uncertain terms Yogi has reiterated his commitment to abide by the Supreme Court’s decision in the temple issue if an out-of-court settlement fails to become a reality.
A period of eight months is not enough to judge the performance of a government chosen for five years, but very few could doubt Yogi’s intention. “His straightforwardness and diligence add to his focused approach. His aggressive politics has a definitive appeal among a sizeable segment of society,” believes Mishra.
If Yogi’s journey from a scenic Pauri to badlands of Gorakhpur has shades of fairy tales, his graduation from an outsider in the BJP to its most formidable leader in UP is quick and awe-inspiring. After a saffron sweep in the November mayoral polls, the first major elections under his chief ministership, Yogi has emerged as an undisputed leader of the party in the state. For a leader whose anointment was greeted with a tide of incertitude and in fact was generally mocked on the social media, this graduation is a giant leap.
“BJP could not find anyone better than Yogi Adityanathji to bolster their Hindutva agenda not only in state but at the national level also. Both BJP and RSS are promoting him as a parallel force in the party from Kerala to Gujarat. He is being nurtured as a leader of stature so that his image as a Hindutva icon could propel the party’s fortunes in 2019 Lok Sabha elections,” says BSP MLA Uma Shankar Singh.
The New Year, however, brings new challenges for Yogi. He is already past the ‘honeymoon period’ and has to come up to the humongous expectations of UP voters who have sent 325 MLAs of BJP and allies to Assembly. Despite tough measures, law and order is still a challenge, so is unemployment. Farmers have been worse off for the past several years due to treacherous weather, and look forward to the government for hand-holding. Besides, now that civic polls are over, he has to fine-tune his ministry and bureaucracy on the basis of the past nine months’ performance. Once it is done, his governance would be under close scrutiny before the big test in 2019.
All in a Day
In his first meeting as the CM, Yogi Adityanath expected government officers to work for 18-20 hours, and he himself is leading by example. His typical day starts at 4 am and till 7 am he is busy with his daily prayers and mediation. After this, he is ready for a long day in office that involves janata darshan, meeting with ministers and holding Cabinet meeting every Tuesday. Evenings are generally occupied by departmental meetings which he never misses despite outstations tours, which are quite frequent. He made it a point to travel all the 22 flood-hit districts on boat. Even then he would never forget to hold the scheduled meeting slated for the evening. Bureaucrats, no wonder, have become habitual to late nights in the office.
Challenges Ahead
The New Year brings new challenges for Yogi Adityanath. Already past the ‘honeymoon period’, the CM has to come up to the humongous expectations of the voters.
Law and order: With a free hand to the police and directive to have ‘a bullet for a bullet’ philosophy, the government has come out with the stringent UPCOCA to break the criminal-politician-contractor-officer nexus. However, the challenge would be to tame gangsters-turned-politicians such as Mukhtar Ansari, Brijesh Singh, Atique Ahmad—accused of running hawala rackets, spurious drug and liquor trade, illegal mining, and money laundering.
Unemployment: The goal is to provide jobs to 70 lakh people in five years, of which 10 lakh will come through vocational education and skill development departments. Besides agriculture, the focus is on textile, hence the thrust is on reopening of the mills. The state has also decided to end the process of holding interview for the non-gazetted posts of Group B, C and D. Also, the plan is afoot to appoint 1.3 lakh police constables over the next five years.
Farmers’ crisis: The `36,000 crore loan waiver could not satisfy the farming community in general. Its implementation drew in a lot of criticism. BJP figures state that dues of 93 per cent of sugarcane farmers worth more than `23,000 crore have been paid so far. But steps would be needed to protect them against hostile weather conditions by implementing the crop insurance schemes and other sops.
Fine-tuning the admin machinery: A terse letter written by Yogi to his ministerial colleagues triggered a buzz about a possible reshuffle of Cabinet and bureaucracy. The 49-minister Cabinet has the scope of 11 more. Moreover, the proposed integration of over 90 departments into around 37, following a Niti Aayog suggestion, will be another endeavour to streamline the system.
Life of the Yogi
1972 (June 5): Born in Garhwal (now
Uttarakhand). Original name Ajay Singh Bisht
1992: Completes BSc (Maths) from Garhwal University
1994: Receives deeksha under Gorakhnath Temple head Mahant Avaidyanath, who names him his successor. At 22, Ajay Singh Bisht is known as Yogi Adityanath.
1998: Wins Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat for the first time at 26, a record.
1999: Miscreants open fire at Samajwadi Party member Talat Aziz at the party’s ‘jail bharo andolan’, allegedly at Adityanath's behest.
2002: Founds the Hindu Yuva Vahini—a social, cultural and nationalist group of young people—on Ramnavami. During elections, BJP and Adityanath are at conflict over the number of tickets to be given to candidates chosen by him in Gorakhpur. RSS intervenes for a truce.
2005: Over 5,000 people are converted to Hinduism in Etah. Yogi reportedly says, “I will not stop till I turn UP and India into a Hindu rashtra”.
2007: Announces a torchlight procession and a ‘Shraddhanjali Sabha’ for a Hindu boy killed in riots that break out in Gorakhpur. DM forbids him from organising the meet, but Yogi and his followers go ahead, and are jailed.
2010: Yogi Adityanath is one of several BJP MPs who do not adhere to the party whip on the Women's Reservation Bill.
2014: Becomes the mahant (head priest) of the Gorakhnath Math, after the death of his spiritual ‘father’, Mahant Avaidyanath, in September.
2017: For the Assembly elections 2017, Adityanath is named a star campaigner and holds more than 150 rallies across UP. He rakes up the law and order situation extensively, and makes ‘love jihad’ a major election issue.
The pilgrim’s progress
1 Law and Order
Be it giving a free hand to the police in tackling hardened criminals or tabling UPCOCA in the Assembly, the CM has shown that his claim on controlling crime is not just rhetoric. All district police chiefs were directed last week to ensure smooth Christmas festivities following the Hindu Jagran Manch’s threat against schools in Aligarh. The district administration cracked down on the activists, asking them to fill peace-guarantee bonds of `10 lakh.
2 Economic Push
From a new industrial policy to setting up an investment promotion board, the government is into an overdrive for industrial push and attracting investment. It has started a single-window system for ease of doing business and has lined up two mega investors’ conclave next year.
3 Brisk Start
The first thing Yogi did as the CM was administer a ‘cleanliness oath’ to his colleagues and top bureaucrats. Besides, to inculcate office discipline, biometric machines were installed. To end the VIP culture, UP was the first state to stop usage of beacon lights on VIP cars. Presentations to evaluate performance of departments by the CM were another talking point.
4 Good Governance
Although his ministers and bureaucrats find it hard to match up, the scorching pace that Yogi Adityanath sets does well for the governance. He himself went to all 22 flood-hit districts on boat to encourage his officers and employees to reach the last man affected.
5 Slaughterhouses on Radar
The whip was cracked, forcing closure of over 100 abattoirs and throwing over 50,000 meat sellers out of business for over two weeks. Although the High Court observed that the government’s step shouldn’t affect people’s food habit, there is no clarity on the fresh licences. However, a majority of meat sellers and food joints are now back to business.
6 Farmer-friendly
At its first Cabinet meeting on April 4, the government waived the farm loans up to `1 lakh to benefit around 86 lakh small and marginal farmers. It also showed urgency to tackle the issue of cane farmers’ dues. Support price for cane and wheat was increased and for the first time ever, MSP for potato was also declared.
7 Reforms Overdrive
The government proposed to introduce English in curriculum since nursery, instead of Class VI. Other educational reforms included trimming of annual holiday list by 15, making the government schools bag-free on Saturdays and all government boys school co-ed.
8 Growth Push
Though probes were ordered against key projects of the previous government, the Yogi government was in agreement to complete these. It adopted Akhilesh’s Purvanchal Expressway after dropping the term ‘Samajwadi’ from its name and Lucknow Metro. It also announced new Metros for Gorakhpur and Jhansi.
9 Infra Thrust
The government kept its promise of making state roads pothole-free, though only partially till the June 15 deadline. Against a target of 1.21 km, only 73,000 km could be repaired—a little over 60 per cent. On the power front, the state signed a pact with the Centre to implement ‘Power for All’ scheme. Now, it’s on the way to ensure minimum 18-hour supply across the state.
10 Civic Polls Triumph
The December civic polls were the first major elections since Yogi’s appointment as the CM, and probably the last before 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Yogi went full throttle in campaign while other big leaders such as SP’s Akhilesh Yadav and BSP’s Mayawati stayed away. Result: BJP made a clean sweep of mayoral seats, winning 14 of 16 up for grabs. Although it couldn’t do as well in tier-two towns, Yogi was credited with the success.
National Footprint
BJP has no dearth of senior leaders and Chief Ministers, who have served long enough to be made lead campaigners beyond their home states, but the party’s dependence on Yogi Adityanath assumes much significance.
Bihar Yogi was sent to the neighbouring state in June, where he launched a blistering attack on BJP’s then political adversary Nitish Kumar in Darbhanga district. His first visit to the state after taking charge of UP was to celebrate the Modi government’s three years at the Centre. There, he dared Nitish to ban illegal slaughter houses, questioned his silence on triple talaq, called his alliance with Lalu Prasad as “unnatural” and showcased his success in law and order back home in a short time at the helm.
Gujarat Apart from his Hindutva poster boy position, which the BJP was desperately in need of, Yogi’s campaigns also targeted expats from UP who have been working in Gujarat. The Central party leadership also sought to cash in on his influence on followers of several ashrams, as many seats of Nath sect are present in the state.
Himachal Pradesh With his firebrand image, Yogi was the ideal figure to reach out to BJP’s traditional voters in the hill state. He addressed more than 10 rallies and meetings in the state.
Kerala In October, Yogi joined the Jan Raksha Yatra launched by party president Amit Shah to protest against targeted killing of BJP workers allegedly by CPI(M) cadres in the state. And the saffron-clad politician left little doubt about his crowd-pulling abilities among the BJP’s core supporters.