Only those who don’t understand the dynamics of Modi’s BJP and its relationship with the RSS would believe stories doing the rounds that the Sangh leadership foisted Yogi Adityanath on the Modi-Shah duo as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. The Yogi was handpicked by the PM and his Man Friday, the BJP president.

It is well known in BJP circles that the RSS has always been suspicious of Adityanath even as it appreciates his hardline Hindutva ideology. Adityanath has never been a member of the RSS; nor for that matter is he officially a member of the BJP either. The BJP has accommodated Adityanath, and before him his mentor, Avaidyanath, in its Lok Sabha list because of the power and influence they wield in Gorakhpur and surrounding areas. 

Adityanath is an independent-minded person with a secure base. Consequently, he has never had to accept the authority of either the RSS or the BJP.

However, unlike the tense relationship he had with the BJP led by Vajpayee and Advani, the present leadership of Modi and Shah has a healthy respect for Adityanath. The Yogi from Gorakhpur gets on well with Shah in particular. The BJP president has been heard in the past praising Adityanath as a powerful and effective campaigner. 

Before the campaign began in earnest, Modi and Shah are believed to have toyed with the idea of projecting Adityanath as the CM candidate. They shelved the idea because they feared his rhetoric would polarise the Muslims behind the BSP, making Mayawati a formidable challenger for the UP prize.

Once the stunning verdict came on March 11, it was but a short hop for Yogi from star campaigner to chief minister of the country’s most populous and politically most important state.  The RSS had left the choice to the Modi-Shah duo. Sangh leader in charge of BJP Krishan Gopal was used to douse any resentment there may have been among leaders like the BJP’s UP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya who had the right credentials too. He is a Hindutva hardliner, a Ram mandir activist and a backward caste to boot.

In a last ditch attempt to stop the BJP from forming a government in Goa, the Congress is believed to have offered Vijay Sardesai of the Goa Forward Party the post of chief minister. Sardesai is a former Congressman who walked out because of differences with the party’s Goa president Luiz Faleiro.

The Congress was so desperate to halt the BJP juggernaut that it sidelined Faleiro to woo Sardesai. It seems Sardesai did not immediately refuse. But the Congress offered him such an unattractive deal that he ultimately declined. The Congress wanted a rotational arrangement with him: two and a half years as CM for Sardesai and two and a half years for a person from the Congress. Sardesai wanted a full term.

Although Congress leaders are blaming the role of “casino money” in propelling the BJP to power despite the defeat of its sitting chief minister and six incumbent ministers, the party must look inwards to see where it went wrong. It is quite clear that the Congress was tardy in cobbling up the numbers which gave the BJP an advantage.
Many in the Goa Congress are upset with the leadership for allowing the government to slip out of the party’s hands. Vishwajit Rane, who resigned on the day of the trust vote, is just the first casualty of the fading appeal of the Gandhis. Others may follow suit in the coming months.

Well planned

Narendra Modi’s planning for every action is so meticulous and so well thought out to the last detail that it’s no wonder he leaves his opponents far behind. Just consider the kind of detailed planning that went into his victory lap in Delhi the day after the results were announced.

It seems Modi wanted to do something around the 325 figure. That’s the staggering number of seats the BJP won in UP. Finally, it was suggested to him that he should do a roadshow from Meridien Hotel to the BJP national headquarters on Ashoka Road. The route was carefully chosen. The distance from the hotel to the BJP office on Google map is 325 metres. That matches the UP seat tally. Modi was so taken with the idea that he waved aside security concerns and walked the distance. He was, of course, well protected by a posse of SPG officers. Nevertheless, it was a victory lap straight after Modi’s heart. 

Missing from action

Where was Rahul Gandhi when the results were announced? For three days after counting day, he was missing from public view. On result day, all winners and even losers addressed the media. But not Rahul.

Considering Rahul had put himself out to lead his party’s campaign in UP, although it was contesting just 105 seats, political watchers felt that he owed it to the public to step out and say something after the rout. The Congress won just 7 seats.

The buzz in Congress circles is that Rahul took off for a short holiday in the hills immediately after campaigning ended for the final phase on March 8. He surfaced the day after Holi only to say that the Congress is “a little down” in UP. 
Modi and Amit Shah are 24×7 politicians. They eat, breathe, sleep and talk politics. If he wants to challenge them, Rahul will have to stop treating politics like a 9-5 job that allows him to take weekends off and short holidays whenever he wants.