UP Polls 2022: BJP banks on Yogi to deliver Gorakhpur

In 2017, BJP had won eight out of nine assembly constituencies in Gorakhpur. The then MP, Yogi Adityanath, became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. In 2022, he is the biggest trump card for the party in the district.

The BJP has denied tickets to four MLAs. One of these seats, Chauri Chaura, has gone to alliance partner Nishad Party and Shravan Nishad is the NDA nominee. New candidates are contesting from Sahjanwa and Khajni, while Adityanath is contesting from Gorakhpur Sadar.

“In Gorakhpur Sadar, it’s not about winning, but about margin,” Siddharth Anand, an auto parts dealer in Mohaddipur, told ET.

“If we think of the candidate, we will never vote for him,” Kanhaiya Nishad of Betanan village in Gorakhpur Rural told ET, adding: “We are not sure, but if we vote for BJP, it is only for Yogiji.”

Gorakhpur Rural BJP candidate and MLA Vipin Singh is facing anti-incumbency. His opponent is SP’s Vijay Bahadur Yadav. “Had Yogiji contested from this seat, I would have thought of voting for him. Since he is not, I will vote for SP,” says a Gorakhpur Nagar Nigam worker from the Nishad community. He doesn’t want to reveal his name.

“We are not looking at the candidate,” 26-year-old vegetable vendor Vishnu Maurya told ET of Rampur Mauli village in Sahjanwa constituency. “We are voting for Yogiji as he has brought development in Gorakhpur.” In Sahjanwa, BJP has fielded Pradeep Shukla, a first-time candidate. BSP has fielded a local mafia Sudhir Singh, who has attracted Thakur voters towards him to some extent.

Rinku Chauhan, a 30-year-old auto driver from Bangala village in Pipraich, doesn’t know the name of the BJP candidate. “For us Yogi baba is there. We are getting better roads, 24-hour electricity.” In Pipraich, BJP MLA Mahendra Pal Singh is up against SP’s Amrendra Nishad.

The NDA alliance is facing challenges on a few seats, such as Chauri Chaura. BJP rebel and popular leader Ajay Singh Tappu is contesting as an Independent and SP has fielded Brajesh Lal, an SC. On the ground, the core BJP voters are looking to back Tappu instead of the Nishad Party candidate. “Tappu worked here for the last five years. During the flood, he helped everyone in the villages. I am a BJP supporter but will vote for him,” says Nagendra Gupta from Bhavpur village. There is also a word going around that Tappu has the backing of Gorakhnath temple. “He is Yogiji’s man. After winning he will join BJP,” Ramanand Maurya, former Pradhan of Shatruhanpur, told ET.

24-year-old Durgesh Maurya of Sonbarsa Tola is also willing to vote for Tappu but he is unhappy with BJP. “I have completed my diploma in 2018 and haven’t got a job. I am earning ₹5,000 as a site engineer. BJP is not working on jobs,” he said.

The general feeling on the ground is that “Yogiji is campaigning extensively and that will change the mood in BJP’s favour”. “Ultimately, it will be BJP,” Rakesh Shukla, a BJP worker in Padri Bazar area, told ET.

For the past few days, Adityanath and Akhilesh Yadav have been campaigning extensively in Gorakhpur. On Sunday, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav did a roadshow for the party candidates.

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