Even as Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has taken the first steps towards firming up the BJP's electoralcampaign in Uttar Pradesh where elections are nine months away, the Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS) is seriously considering Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath as theparty's chief ministerial face.
Aninfluential section within the RSS feels that projecting Adityanath as theBJP's CM candidate would be a sure-shot passport to success in the upcoming UPassembly polls.
While Adityanath'scandidature would surprise many, especially when the names of HRD MinisterSmriti Irani, Varun Gandhi and Keshav Maurya have also cropped up, there is nodoubt that the proposed candidature of the Gorakhpur MP, who makes no bonesabout his communal leanings, is an out-of-the-box idea.
Lessons From Assam
A section ofthe RSS feels that while Modi should name Irani as the CM candidate others feelthat Varun Gandhi or Maurya, an OBC who was recently appointed as the party's newchief in UP, too should be considered.
Irrespective of which of these leaders isfinally projected as CM candidate, there is a groundswell of opinion within theRSS that the BJP must go into the UP elections with a pre-decided CM candidate.There is increasing conviction among BJP-RSS political strategists that definitecandidate will be electorally beneficial.
The latest example in support of this strategyis that of Sarabnanda Sonowal who was declared as the BJP's CM candidate for Assamand he eventually won the election for his party.
There is a sense that if the BJP had redressedthe grievances of actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha as the BJP's CM candidatein Bihar, the narrative there would have been vastly different.
Why Adityanath as CM Probable?
Adityanath, themotormouth BJP MP, is a wildcard entry in the shortlist of probable CM candidatesfor UP. The reasons for pitching him are not far to seek. He is a highlypolarising politician. He has a knack for stirring national controversies with controversialremarks. He had likened Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan to Pakistan-basedterror fountainhead Hafiz Saeed, saying that Khan increasingly spoke like HafizSaeed.
Adityanath has routinely caused embarrassments toModi and yet the prime minister has never publicly chided him.
The BJP won 71 of 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP inthe general elections two years ago largely by polarising the electorate. Theargument goes that if the party seeks to win UP it needs to repeat the sametactics and no one fits the bill better than Adityanath.
.jpg "(Photo: The Quint)")
Irani's Hopes Still Alive
There is,however, a flip side in projecting Adityanath as the CM candidate. If the BJPwere to eventually bite the bullet it runs the risk of being a divisive,polarising party which would affect its image as well as its carefully craftedstrategy of projecting itself as a national alternative to the Congress.
The counter-argument is that even if Adityanathdelivers UP to the BJP, it may well be a Pyrrhic victory as the party may losethe war when it comes to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Therefore, the argument continues, why not go infor a safe bet like Irani who may well fire the imagination of women voters andappeal to the larger electorate with her star appeal. Most importantly, Irani'sbiggest USP is that she is a staunch Modi loyalist and does not pose any threatto him.
(The writer is an independent journalist and strategic analyst who tweets @Kishkindha)
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