Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has been directing all his fire against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, whom he believes is the real culprit for all the misfortunes in the State — from its law and order to its response during the pandemic.
Yogi has always believed in presenting billboards, pamphlets and posters as a political trick to win the hearts and minds of the people. Though Akhilesh has been precise, he will have to plug the loopholes by entering into arithmetic alliances with smaller parties like the SBSP and Congress for winning political office. Otherwise, the going may prove to be politically inconclusive for the fact that Akhilesh has begun with yatras and not ghoshnaas as competing for power asks for alertness towards responding to the concerns of electorates.
This will ensure Akhilesh’s upper hand as he will have to outsmart BJPs polarisation attempts by counting on non-other backward caste floating voters who may end up voting for the BJP en masse, with the opposition — SP, BSP, RLD and Congress — left to fend for themselves.
With Akhilesh politically fighting till the last anything can happen. Meanwhile, smaller parties might tilt the odds in anyone’s favour. As for the uncertainties of the Assembly where nobody emerges as a victor, whosoever wins will put their everything at stake.
The Uttar Pradesh elections are like a big elephant in a room searching for space, accomodating to the size as for the 2024 general elections, and testing the future of Indian democracy if we were to be a republic anymore.