The mini Cabinet expansion in Uttar Pradesh carried out by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday carries a political message in the run-up to the Lok Sabha poll. The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), which fought the 2022 Assembly polls with the Samajwadi Party (SP), turned against people’s mandate and have been awarded one Minister each by the BJP that till recently considered them parivarvadi (dynastic parties).
It shows that the ruling party, with its double engine, is not confident that fulfilling the core promises of Ram Temple and dilution of Article 370 alone will take the National Democratic Alliance beyond the kind of majority that PM Narendra Modi is seeking in Parliament this time round and that it is open to compromise on ideology.
With nine and six MLAs in the Assembly respectively, the RLD and SBSP influence at least two dozen Lok Sabha seats in the western and eastern parts of the State. By bringing them into the NDA fold, BJP has bought peace in areas that would have made it sweat. The entry of the two parties also shows a rare display of political elasticity from Mr. Adityanath as both the RLD and the SBSP supremos have been bitter critics of the U.P. CM.
Core demand unmet
However, the core demands of both parties have not been addressed so far. The RLD, which was instrumental in galvanising the farmers of western U.P. against farm laws and sought the legal guarantee of minimum support price, jumped ship at a time when farmers of Punjab and Haryana were again returning to the Delhi border. Party chief Chaudhary Jayant Singh had rejected the Agniveer scheme of Army recruitment and was vocal against the divisive politics of the BJP in the region where Jats and Muslims have been living cheek by jowl. Unconcerned, the BJP has repeated the tickets of both Ajay Mishra Teni and Sanjeev Balyan from Lakhimpur Kheri and Muzaffarnagar respectively.
For now, in terms of ideological gain, the party only has Bharat Ratna for Chaudhary Charan Singh to show to its electorate. Party sources say that it would be enough for the time being and after polls other issues will be settled.
Analysts say Mr. Singh has shown political acumen by not holding the newfound power around himself and the Jat community. By accommodating Gurjar and Dalit faces, he has sent a message to not only the Opposition but also the new friends. Meerapur MLA Chandan Chauhan, RLD’s Bijnor LS candidate, and new Minister Anil Kumar, MLA from Purkazi, hail from Gurjar and Jatav communities respectively, and were with the SP before the 2022 polls.
SBSP chief O.P. Rajbhar, who sounds a lot more ideologically malleable and desperate for a red beacon on his car, had parted ways with the BJP government for not implementing the subcategorisation of the 27% OBC quota as per the recommendations of a social justice committee. That demand still hangs in the balance.
That Mr. Adityanath has incorporated Sahibabad MLA Sunil Sharma also reflects that he is amenable to the choices of the central leadership. With the inclusion of Dara Singh Chauhan, the party wants to reach out to the Nonia Chauhan community which influences the outcome in U.P. and Bihar border constituencies. Among the string of party hoppers, Mr. Chauhan is the biggest gainer as the loss in the Ghosi Assembly bypoll hasn’t dented his utility.
The expansion has also rubbed salt on the wounds of the SP, which has not been able to keep its flock together because of the insecurities of the leadership that seems to be fed by a self-serving coterie. It has also sent a message to the Bahujan Samaj Party. Be it Mr. Rajbhar, Mr. Chauhan, or Mr. Kumar, they all are products of the Kanshi Ram school of social justice.
