* Akhilesh Both Gained and Lost, Maya Remained Empty-Handed Again*
Ajay Kumar I Lucknow
2024 is now fading into the pages of history. The past year was quite memorable for Uttar Pradesh. The most significant event was the consecration of Ram Lalla in his grand temple in Ayodhya after five centuries of exile. While this achievement is credited to the Modi government, it cannot be denied that BJP suffered a severe defeat in the Lok Sabha elections held a few months after the grand temple was built. The loss was so significant that BJP even lost the Ayodhya Lok Sabha seat, a defeat that continues to haunt them. The opposition frequently taunts BJP over this loss. After the general elections this year, BJP’s number of MPs from the state dropped from 62 to 33. Even if allied seats from Rashtriya Lok Dal (2) and Apna Dal (1) are added, the count only reaches 36. In contrast, the INDIA alliance secured 43 seats, with Samajwadi Party (SP) winning 37 and Congress securing 6 seats. Both SP and Congress improved their performance, but the worst situation was for the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which could not win a single seat.
With BJP’s dominance in Delhi relying heavily on UP, the 2024 general election results weakened its stronghold in the state and reduced its stature in national politics. Even the winning margin of PM Narendra Modi, contesting from Varanasi for the third time, significantly shrank. For the first time, Modi had to form a coalition government at the center without a full majority for BJP. Consequently, after the election results, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leaders remained aggressively critical of the BJP and the Modi-Yogi governments for months. 2024 will be remembered as the year that halted BJP’s winning streak and, for the first time in a decade, relegated BJP to the second-largest party in UP in terms of MPs. Some attribute this loss to internal conflicts within BJP.
However, towards the year’s end, voters partially consoled BJP. In the assembly by-elections, the BJP alliance won seven out of nine seats, somewhat easing the bitter experience of the Lok Sabha elections. BJP started 2024 with high hopes, coinciding with the consecration of Ram Lalla at his birthplace. PM Narendra Modi was the chief patron of this event. For the first time in independent India, a Prime Minister publicly upheld the sentiments of the majority community. Both Modi and Yogi Adityanath played pivotal roles in the construction of Ram Lalla’s temple.
PM Modi’s move was unprecedented and can be understood in the context of the opposition raised by the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to the restoration of the Somnath temple. Nehru had refused to attend the event and tried to prevent the President from attending as well. However, the President attended the ceremony, not as the President but as a devotee. Against this historical backdrop, Modi’s participation as the chief patron in Ram Lalla’s consecration was a groundbreaking step. This move created an atmosphere where BJP’s slogan of crossing 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections seemed achievable, but it didn’t materialize. Not only did BJP’s seats in UP decrease, but the party also lost the Faizabad (Ayodhya) seat, a major blow. However, by winning seven out of nine seats in the assembly by-elections, BJP somewhat mitigated the pain of this setback.
The BJP’s significant victory in the UP assembly by-elections is attributed to the efforts of state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his direct communication with party workers. Yogi took the by-elections as a challenge and devised strategies for all the seats himself. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that through these results, Yogi demonstrated both administrative and organizational prowess in 2024. Another notable aspect was the active involvement of the RSS in the by-elections, unlike in the Lok Sabha elections. From an organizational perspective, BJP’s 2024 performance doesn’t present any remarkable achievements, but Yogi’s stature has certainly grown after the by-election results. On the other hand, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav lost in the by-elections what he had gained in the general elections, while BSP continued its downward trend throughout the year.
