Along with elections in the states of Maharashtra and Jharkhand there are also some bypolls that will take place. It would be especially interesting to see which way the state of Uttar Pradesh would vote given the way the vote fell in the recent Lok Sabha. If the Samajwadi Party Chief Akhikesh Yadav is able to keep the Lok Sabha momentum and wrest a large chunk of the 9 seats that are going in for the bypolls, then it would be a huge shot in the arm for the anti BJP alliance. In particular it would give credibility to the rumours doing the rounds that the BJP is planning a change of guard at the state level. But if Yogi Adityanath is able to hold his own, then that would go a long way in consolidating his position as not just the chief minister of the state but also as the next best gen next leader in a post Modi scenario. And that is what some of the optics is all about, to see who will emerge as the first amongst equals amongst the gen next.
The Chief Minister knows that just as the Lok Sabha polls were crucial for Modi, this round of bypolls is crucial for him. He is campaigning hard (some would say harder than what he did in the Lok Sabha) and sensing the stakes, Akhilesh Yadav is also leading the campaign from the front.
The Chief Minister is all too aware of this. He knows just as the Lok Sabha polls were crucial for Modi, this round of bypolls is crucial for him. He is campaigning hard (some would say harder than what he did in the Lok Sabha) and sensing the stakes, Akhilesh Yadav is also leading the campaign from the front. This is one reason why Akhilesh was not so accommodating to his I.N.D.I.A bloc ally the Congress, because he knew a fall in the number of seats would give rise to speculation that the Lok Sabha numbers were a one off and that the Yogi magic remains. Moreover, post the Haryana elections, it will be a while before the rest of the I.N.D.I.A bloc partners start trusting the Congress again.
For Akhilesh Yadav as well this is a high stakes battle. His heart is at the state level. he has often stated that his preference is the Chief Minister’s chair rather than any prime ministerial ambitions. Moreover he knows all too well that the road to Delhi starts from Uttar Pradesh. And in the recent Lok Sabha, under him the Samajwadi Party notched its highest Lok Sabha tally ever, emerging as the third largest national party. He was able to prove the naysayers wrong who felt that he could not manage the party founded by his father. For him too, these bypolls are crucial for should he manage to win a sizeable chunk it would show a consistent brand of leadership and one that would be a reassuring optic to take to the coming state elections in 2027 where he would be challenging sitting chief minister Yogi Adityanath.