Had you ever heard the name Labh Singh until last week? He hit the headlines after defeating former Punjab chief minister (CM) Charanjit Singh Channi in the assembly elections. Similarly, another relatively unknown person, Bhuvan Chandra Kapri, defeated former Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami in the polls. What do these victories signify?
Many unknown people blaze a trail and then vanish without a trace in politics. Tribhuvan Narayan Singh, a former CM of Uttar Pradesh (UP), was defeated by Ramkrishna
Had you ever heard the name Labh Singh until last week? He hit the headlines after defeating former Punjab chief minister (CM) Charanjit Singh Channi in the assembly elections. Similarly, another relatively unknown person, Bhuvan Chandra Kapri, defeated former Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami in the polls. What do these victories signify?
Many unknown people blaze a trail and then vanish without a trace in politics. Tribhuvan Narayan Singh, a former CM of Uttar Pradesh (UP), was defeated by Ramkrishna Dwivedi in the 1970s. This is one of several examples in which the victor faded into obscurity after a spectacular feat. Labh Singh and Bhuvan Chandra Kapri now have to make sure they stay relevant going forward.
The good news is that several people of humble origins have proved successful in recent times through sheer dint of hard work and perseverance. UP CM Yogi Adityanath is an example. He was elected to Parliament from Gorakhpur five times. But when Yogi Adityanath was chosen CM of UP in 2017, numerous issues were raised. One was that he lacked administrative experience, another was that his attire was inappropriate. The first thing he did after he took office was to restore law and order. The police cracked down ruthlessly on criminals. Human rights activists may disapprove of this, but the people of UP have welcomed this approach. The CM made effective policing his poll plank and it paid off handsomely.
Unlawful structures protected or owned by criminals since the 1970s were taken down. I noticed that a well-known shop near Johnson Ganj crossroads in Allahabad, which had allegedly been taken over by a jailed gangster, had disappeared. When I asked what had happened, I was informed that “Yogi Baba” had it taken down. While driving to the airport, it was clear that the crackdown on the mafia has improved access to and navigability on the roads as well. One major impediment to ease of doing business in UP was crime syndicates. Yogi has destroyed this in one fell swoop.
When the pandemic began, there were no laboratories in UP to test for the coronavirus. Now, BSL-2 laboratories with a daily testing capacity of 400,000 are available in the state’s divisional and district hospitals. Yogi Adityanath himself contracted Covid-19, but as soon as he recovered, he began visiting hospitals at different times in the day and night to check on conditions in them.
During the election, it was clear that the majority of people felt the pandemic’s potential harm was far greater than what had already transpired. In order to reduce further suffering, Yogi implemented the Narendra Modi government’s food distribution and other welfare schemes in order to allay fears of widespread hunger. Yogi is known to make swift decisions. When a rape was reported from a protection home, he acted quickly and also developed programmes such as Mission Shakti to raise women’s awareness and ensure their safety. Research conducted after the polls revealed that this time, even rural women voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) without any consideration for caste or religion.
As he begins his new innings, Yogi will be up against a formidable opponent in the Samajwadi Party leader, Akhilesh Yadav. The people have high expectations of Yogi’s government. Living up to these will pose a significant challenge. His party is riven by few dissensions. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles all this.
If the BJP has Yogi Adityanath in UP, Delhi has a very different personality in Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and CM Arvind Kejriwal. As soon as he took over in Delhi, he focused on improving schools and hospitals. He brought exorbitant electricity and water prices under control. Unfinished projects were completed ahead of schedule, resulting in significant cost reductions. He has been running Delhi using the slogan “Janata ka paisa, janata ke liye (the people’s money is for the people)” for the past eight years. Despite losing the previous election in Punjab, he persevered and went on to notch up a historic triumph this time. He is now looking at Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. If he wins a sizable number of seats in these states, his national position will be strengthened considerably.
Politicians such as the Biju Janata Dal’s Naveen Patnaik, Trinamool Congress’s Mamata Banerjee, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s MK Stalin, YSR Congress’s Jagan Mohan Reddy, Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s K Chandrashekhar Rao, Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tejashwi Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, have significant influence in their states. All eyes are now on Kejriwal and how he handles a tough state like Punjab. Sixty-three of the AAP’s 92 new members in the assembly are crorepatis, and 52 have criminal cases pending against them.
Yogi and Kejriwal have forged their political careers in the crucible of adversity. If they can stay the course, bigger political roles await them.
Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan
The views expressed are personal
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