Bharatiya Janata Party’s Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said he played only a “limited” role in the Uttar Pradesh campaign and that he was not involved in key issues.
He has been widely criticised for ‘polarising’ voters by raising the controversial ‘love jihad’ issue and costing the party dearly in the recent bypolls. (Hindutva forces claim that Muslim boys use love as a ploy to seduce Hindu girls and convert them after marriage.)
Mr. Adityanath also attacked the Election Commission of India (ECI) for not being able to check the ‘misuse of power’ by the ruling Samajwadi Party.
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“Three things are imperative to win an election — selection of candidates, [a party’s] organisational structure and planning. I was not there in any of these… My role was limited as the chief campaigner,” the firebrand leader tweeted a day after the BJP suffered a big defeat at the hands of the ruling Samajwadi Party.
In a series of tweets, which are being seen as his defence for not being able to deliver despite being named one of the star campaigners, the MP said: “When the party arranged for my travel, I went to campaign for a few seats… the party won in most of these places. My Guru [former MP Mahant Avaidyanath] was seriously ill during the time and I had to be in Delhi in the morning and evening.”
He asked BJP workers not to be disappointed and to do some “introspection.” “BJP should review the by-poll results that come just four months after the magnificent victory in the Lok Sabha polls… It is true that these results did not meet our expectations, but every loss gives us a chance to evaluate.”
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The MP said: “In one way, the ECI is responsible for the Samajwadi Party’s victory in many seats as it was not able stop the misuse of power.”
Significantly, the ECI has asked the Uttar Pradesh police to probe at least two incidents involving Yogi Adityanath during the campaign — one relating to an alleged hate speech in Noida and another to the violation of the model code of conduct in Lucknow.