NEW DELHI:Caste politics determines the leadership quotient in Uttar Pradesh elections. Satraps of different political weight, relevance and ambition such as Kalyan Singh, Yogi Adityanath, Smriti Irani, Varun Gandhi, Uma Bharati and Kalraj Mishra are among the top leaders vying to be the party’s campaign face in state polls in February-March 2017.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh said cryptically, “UP mein kabil chehron ke koi kami nahi hai (There is no dearth of capable faces in Uttar Pradesh).” Though
He has firmly ruled out any return to state politics, sources say that his role will be discussed at the two-day BJP national executive beginning on Sunday in Allahabad.
Meanwhile, posters promoting Varun have appeared on walls across the state. Surveys, including one by BJP, give him a lead above all CM candidates. He has been campaigning independently, distributing his MP’s salary among families of farmer suicides. With Hindutva and the Ram Temple in Ayodhya likely to be the campaign subtext, sources say his “left of centre” shift could hobble his chances.
The dynamic HRD minister Smriti Irani, the perfect woman counter a resurgent Mayawati, has been a regular to Amethi since 2014 and has shown her willingness to accept any new assignment. Kalyan Singh, ensconced in the sprawling Raj Bhawan in Jaipur, is aching for a return. The 84-year-old has been calling up state leaders to gauge the mood. But age and opposition from upper castes are against him.
Upper castes have been BJP’s core voters. Its Brahmin face, Kalraj Mishra, who will turn 75 this July, thus crossing the Cabinet age limit, is hoping to be the one who keeps the Brahmins in the party. So is Shiv Pratap Shukla. The militant mahant of Gorakhnath Peeth, Yogi Adityanath, is likely to play the polarisation card to prove his clout. Bharati is expected to campaign aggressively on the Hindutva plank in the state.