Ayodhya: Though Akhilesh Yadav appears to have established himself as the key challenger to UP CM Yogi Adityanath, the big question is whether the SP chief can upset the powerful PM Modi-Yogi combo, aided by Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda.
Observers say in bipolar elections like UP is witnessing, the result can swing either way if anti-BJP votes don’t get divided. It’s been a long fight, but Akhilesh has managed to keep pace with the BJP’s well-oiled poll machinery.
A day after Adityanath’s impressive roadshow in Ayodhya, Akhilesh held a similar one today amid support from enthusiastic SP cadres.
Unseating the BJP may be a huge challenge, but Akhilesh has enthused the SP cadres effectively, turning these elections into a direct fight with the BJP and relegating Mayawati’s BSP and the Congress led by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra almost to the sidelines.
Ayodhya’s Krishna Pandey, who dabbles in property, says the BSP may win a couple of seats in Phase-V, but that would be on the basis of individual efforts by the party’s candidates. “But whatever SP wins in Ayodhya, it will be only because of Akhilesh’s efforts,” he adds.
BJP cadres in Ayodhya admit that a week ago, the situation was not as conducive for the party as it is today. Along with residents and shopkeepers, upset over the “meagre” compensation they got after losing property and livelihood amid upcoming development projects in Ayodhya, a section of the “Sant Samaj” is angry too with Adityanath. However, “Sant Samaj” welcomed Yogi yesterday and assured him of support.
Sandeep Pandey of Sultanpur, working in Ayodhya, says even if things go bad and the BJP loses 100 seats compared to 312 in 2017, it will still cross the magic mark of 202. “If Akhilesh gains all these 100 seats, he will be too short of a majority (SP won 47 seats last time),” he says. He argues that there may be an undercurrent in favour of the SP, but a wave is missing.