Yogi Adityanath had represented Gorakhpur in Parliament for 19 years before the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost the seat in the 2018 bypoll as he vacated it after taking over as Uttar Pradesh chief minister in 2017.
He has tried to pull out all the stops to ensure that the BJP wins back the seat that would go to the polls in the last phase of the national elections on Sunday.
Adityanath virtually turned Gorakhpur’s Gorakhnath Mutt, which he heads, into a virtual war room in the run up to the polls and oversaw the poll preparations.
The Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV), which was founded by Adityanath in 2002 and had become dormant when he became chief minister in March 2017, was also reactivated in view of the Lok Sabha polls.
WATCH: Lok Sabha Elections 2019 | Analysing possible post-poll scenarios
The HYV workers organised door-to-door campaigning and reported to Adityanath. “The organisation has a widespread network in eastern Uttar Pradesh and is back in action to win the support of the voters,” said HYV functionary PK Mall.
Surya Mani Tripathi, a BJP worker, said Adityanath camped in the mutt for 10 days and monitored the election campaign.
Follow Lok Sabha elections 2019 live updates here
Political analyst Manoj Singh said it may not be easy for the BJP, which lost Gorakhpur in 2018 for the first time since 1989. He said the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)-Samajwadi Party (SP) alliance enjoys support among Yadavs, Muslims, Dalits , and Nishads, which roughly account for 50% of the population. “[This is] a reason for the BJP to worry.”
BJP candidate, Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan, is up against the SP’s Ram Bhuwal Nishad, who belongs to dominant Nishad caste, which accounts for 16% of the population.
{{/usCountry}}BJP candidate, Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan, is up against the SP’s Ram Bhuwal Nishad, who belongs to dominant Nishad caste, which accounts for 16% of the population.
{{/usCountry}}SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP leader Mayawati maintained they formed the alliance after their candidate defeated the BJP in Gorakhpur bypoll.
BJP leader Dharmendra Singh said Adityanath has directed the party cadres to ensure an increase in the polling percentage. “Low polling percentage in the bypoll led to the BJP’s defeat.”
Praveen Nishad, who defeated BJP’s Upendra Shukla in the bypoll, joined the BJP along with his father, Sanjay Nishad, ahead of the general elections.
Also read | 59 seats up for vote, all you need to know about phase 7
Ram Avadh Nishad, a local resident, said there was an intense fight between the BJP and the BSP-SP alliance for the Nishad vote. “No doubt Ram Bhuwal Nishad is an influential leader of our community but Sanjay Nishad is also a tall leader and he is seeking support for the BJP. Our vote will be decisive in deciding the fate of the candidates.”
Umesh Kumar Gupta, a trader, said the BJP has tried to overcome the traditional rivalry between Thakurs and Brahmins with the choice of its candidate.
BSP national general secretary, Ramachal Rajbhar, said the BSP- SP alliance has support of the masses. The bypoll results will be repeated, he added.