Yogi magic at work: UP BJP sees massive victory in 2024

Lucknow, June 24 (HS): Till 2022, UP BJP used to bank on the slogan of 'Modi hai to mumkin hai.' However, a year later, the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh believes in Yogi magic at work. Yogi factor has been working overtime in by-elections and subsequent municipal polls to guarantee a sweeping victory for the BJP following the 2022 assembly triumph. BJP cadres are optimistic that Yogi Adityanath's rising status as a Hindu leader, harsh image as an administrator, and all-encompassing charm would secure the BJP's landslide victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. A fractured opposition will only help the saffron wave. So far, the BJP in Uttar Pradesh has only one strategy: keep cadres mobilised for elections and return to each booth on a regular basis.

"With charismatic leaders like Modi and Yogi, all we have to do is keep our foot soldiers from becoming complacent. Our 'panna pramukhs' and vistaraks' are at work, and our leaders are focusing on seats where the party is relatively weak," a party functionary added. On the organisational front, there is a good possibility that Sunil Bansal, who has performed wonders in past elections in Uttar Pradesh, could be asked to lead the state ahead of the 2024 polls. Bansal understands the state's dynamics like the back of his hand and is well-versed in the cadres. He may also play an important influence in UP's selection of candidates for 2024.

In order to counteract the anti-incumbency effect, the BJP is also planning to replace candidates.

According to party insiders, some candidates may be dismissed for being beyond the age of 70, while others may be denied tickets for underperforming in their seats.

The BJP is focused on the 'labharthi' (beneficiaries) vote bank, of which minorities and Dalits make up a sizable portion. "These are the groups that have benefited from the Central and State governments' schemes, and we are reaching out to them." "It is not a question of caste or religion, but of have-nots receiving benefits," the party official explained. Yogi's bulldozer campaign against the mafia would be part of the party's electoral plan for the middle class and higher castes people.

"Traders and builders are no longer complaining about extortion, and the mafia is not usurping land. This will be exploited to the campaign's benefit," the functionary added. Despite the fact that the odds are in its favour, the BJP is refusing to get complacent. The party has been discreetly striving to re-establish relations with its estranged ally, the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP). When SBSP chairman Om Prakash Rajbhar's son, Arun Rajbhar, married earlier this month, the senior BJP leadership showed him every courtesy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to Rajbhar to express his best wishes on the newlywed pair. Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, dispatched an envoy with a letter of congratulations.

The wedding was attended by state BJP president Bhupendra Chaudhary, as well as other ministers. Rajbhar hasn't stopped singing BJP anthems since, even though he hasn't declared his return to the NDA fold. Surprisingly, the BJP in Uttar Pradesh is not planning on using celebrity campaigners in 2024. "I told you 'Yogi hai to magic hai,' and Modi is an added bonus." "Do we need to say anything else?" the functionary said.

Hindusthan Samachar/Abhishek Awasthi