This death by a 1000 cuts must end

Ghanshyam Tiwari

Did you know that Uttar Pradesh elections are right around the corner? Why else would most major news channels suddenly start beaming a minute by minute all day coverage of the Prime Minister doing pooja in Kashi or why would most newspapers carry front page advertisements of his Kashi visit? If you are still unplugged, be ready to be told by the anchors of most news channels that a cultural renaissance of India is underway and if you want the tag of true Hindu, you must hold your breath to watch this movement. You may even lose your breath when you are told that in seventy years, no one did anything to build the self-esteem of the people of India until the day PM Modi began this renaissance movement. You are lucky to watch it live on television. Be grateful, say thank you Modi ji and stay tuned - Uttar Pradesh elections are here.

Until a few days ago, Yogi Adityanath seemed to be the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Then the clock started ticking on the elections. Now, and on most days until the campaign is over, Chief Minister PM Modi is in charge. Many days a week, you would see Mr. Modi start the day as the Prime Minister of India and before you know transform into the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. And if the tamasha in Kashi is any indication, he is doing a fantastic job at it. In case it is not yet obvious, BJP is not going into the elections in UP on the claims of governance of Yogi Government rather the election is going to be about the transformation of the state by Chief Minister PM Modi. The six month long Adityanath campaign of Abki baar, Yogi Sarkaar faced an unscripted encounter, dead and over on the day Amit Shah ordered people of Uttar Pradesh to vote for BJP in 2022 to help Modi ji win the election in 2024.

Unfortunately for the BJP and fortunately for We, The People, voters of Uttar Pradesh are not listening anymore. Take a look at the massive political rallies of former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav of Samajwadi Party and you will see the public sentiment in Uttar Pradesh. No, he is not competing with CM PM Modi to lead the cultural renaissance that India missed in the last seventy years. He is simply speaking about the agenda of jobs for the youth, representation for the backwards, dalits, and minorities, justice for the farmers, harmony amongst communities, and the pain that people face due to rising prices. Most major news channels are not even covering these massive political rallies. Sometimes, you may read about them in the print. Yet, the people of Uttar Pradesh are turning up in more and more numbers all day and sometimes all night to listen to Akhilesh Yadav. The writing on the wall is - BJP’s New India project is about to sink in Uttar Pradesh.

If you want to perform a literal translation of the phrase, ‘death by a thousand cuts’, you can simply analyse the agenda and model of the Yogi led BJP Government in Uttar Pradesh. Led by PM Modi, his promise for Achhe Din and a polarising pitch of Shamshaan - Kabristan and Eid - Diwali, BJP rode to power in 2017 in Uttar Pradesh promising better social representation to backwards and dalits while the then CM Akhilesh Yadav faced infighting in Samajwadi Party and high pitched propaganda of underrepresentation of communities outside his caste. To the horror of any rational thinker, BJP appointed Adityanath as the Chief Minister. In no time, anti-romeo squads, love jihad, cow vigilante, mob violence, terrorising of minorities, fake encounters, clamping on individual liberties, terrorising the press, and more such themes with propaganda became the mission of the state. Coupled with the disastrous performance of Modi Sarkaar nationally, the Yogi Sarkaar rashly drove the state into high unemployment, rising poverty, and unmitigated misery that the poor and weak face now. No state trampled on democratic values with as much villainous rapture as the Yogi Government in Uttar Pradesh. When questioned, Modi Yogi began building more and more public support in its one colored agenda of religious fervor. The outcome is visible in the horror shows of Unnao and Hathras or the criminal impunity in Lakhimpur Kheri. Uttar Pradesh elections in 2022 is a people’s opportunity to end this deadly model of Governance.

Uttar Pradesh elections are never about Uttar Pradesh alone. They are about the agenda that will dominate the politics of India. The unmatched public support for Akhilesh Yadav in his Vijay and Parivartan rallies show that people want to shun BJP for bulldozing the dream of achhe din into everyday nightmare of bure din. The more BJP responds with the Baba politics of Modi-Yogi religious tamasha funded by the hapless tax payer of India, the more people will see it like the uncontrollable bull that often causes injury and destruction in farms, markets and roads of Uttar Pradesh. For Chief Minister PM Modi, Uttar Pradesh election is a moment of truth. For