Indian Lok Sabha elections: Will the Yogi government’s distinctive anti-mafia policies work for the BJP in the troubled state of Purvanchal?

An end to “mafia” and “mafia rule” was the top Lok Sabha election promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other BJP strongmen who campaigned hard in the Purvanchal region, which has 27 seats. Of these, 14 will go to polls in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 25, while the remaining 13 will go to polls in the seventh and final phase on June 1.

The 14 seats where polls went to the polls on May 25 are Sultanpur, Pratapagarh, Phulpur, Allahabad, Ambedkarnagar, Shrawasti, Dhumariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj (SC), Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machilishah (SC) and Bhadohi.

The remaining 13 seats going to polls on June 1 include the high-profile Varanasi constituency, where Modi is contesting for the third time, and Yogi Adityanath’s home town of Gorakhpur, where the BJP has fielded actor-politician Ravi Kishan. Other seats in Purvanchal that will go to polls on June 1 are Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon, Ghosi, Sullenpur, Bahria, Gazipur, Chandauli, Mirzapur and Robertsganj.

The final push

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance had won 20 seats in Purvanchal region in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. This time, the BJP mobilised all its stalwarts here, with PM Modi and Chief Minister Yogi at the forefront, holding nine and 28 rallies respectively in Purvanchal, including in seats where polls are yet to be held. In public meetings, roadshows and rallies across eastern Uttar Pradesh, their leaders made the state government’s crackdown on “mafias” the focus of their speeches, and alleged a dismal record on the subject for their rivals.

“Not just Mirzapur, the Samajwadi Party government has ruined the image of the entire Purvanchal. They made Purvanchal a safe haven for the ‘mafia’ and created an environment of fear among the people. Under the SP government, the ‘mafia’ was considered as a vote base. But things have changed under the Yogi government.” JAt first, people were scared, but now they are J“India’s bulldozers and perfect law and order give fear to the ‘mafia’,” PM Modi said at a rally in Mirzapur.

Ghosi accused the Samajwadi Party of ignoring Purvanchal and turning the area into a “region of mafia, poverty and helplessness”.

Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah also praised Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his efforts in improving law and order in the state. “Earlier, the entire state of Uttar Pradesh was surrounded by ‘mafia’ and mosquitoes. Our Yogi Adityanath has eradicated both mosquitoes and ‘mafia’. He eradicated mosquitoes by maintaining cleanliness and he has his own way of eradicating ‘mafia’,” Amit Shah said in Deoria.

Yogi Adityanath used the same analogy with Amit Shah at Belwar in Gorakhpur on Tuesday: “Gorakhpur was once known for mosquitoes and ‘mafia’. Now it is known for development. We have cleared out the ‘mafia’ and mosquitoes from Uttar Pradesh.”

Will the “Mafia” pitch be successful?

The big question is whether the anti-mafia appeal will resonate with the masses, especially at a time when the Hindu bloc is focused on livelihood issues like unemployment and leaked exam papers.

Manoj Singh, a political analyst from Gorakhpur district, said the anti-mosquito propaganda could have been more effective than the anti-mafia propaganda. “The Yogi Adityanath government has done a great job when it comes to developing Purvanchal district. People have praised the government for its prompt steps to control encephalitis.Yogis are humans“But unfortunately the other part of the slogan about the ‘Mafia’ has failed to establish a narrative among the people,” he said.

“The anti-mafia propaganda may not be able to get the narrative going following the recent political developments where Amit Shah met with ‘Baahubali’ star Raghuraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiya and the wife of mafia politician Dhananjay Singh. Dhananjay, a Jaunpur strongman, subsequently declared his support for the BJP. Another development is the entry of Samajwadi Party rebel MP and mafia politician Abhay Singh, who voted against the saffron party in the Rajya Sabha elections,” Singh pointed out.

Singh said in the age of social media, people are aware of the discrepancy between words and actions. Meanwhile, India-Bloc seems to be gaining popularity in the region, especially among the youth, the political analyst added.

Summary of 2019

Of the 14 seats in Purvanchal region where polls were held in the sixth phase elections, the nine held by the BJP in the outgoing Lok Sabha were Sultanpur, Pratapagarh, Purpur, Allahabad, Domariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabirnagar, Machilishar (SC) and Bhadohi. The BSP had won four seats in 2019 – Ambedkarnagar, Shrawasti, Lalganj and Jaunpur. The SP managed to retain Azamgarh but lost it in the 2022 by-elections. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had won 13 of these 14 Purvanchal seats while the SP won in Azamgarh.

Of the remaining 13 seats, the NDA had won 11 in 2019. The BJP won nine of these seats on its own – Varanasi, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon, Salempur, Bahria and Chandauli. Its ally, Anupriya Patel-led Apna Dal (S), won two seats – Mirzapur and Robertsganj. The Samajwadi Party and the Indian National Congress failed to score in these seats. The BSP, which contested the elections in alliance with the SP, won two seats – Ghosi and Ghazipur.

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