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Ajay Uprety
Ajay Uprety

COVER STORY

Man of steel

  • Check point: In the secretariat, Lucknow | Pawan Kumar
  • Romeo row: UP Police’s Anti-Romeo squad’s attracted a lot of ire | Pawan Kumar

In his tightrope act, Yogi juggles party, populism and governance

  • In 1998, Yogi’s margin was 26,206 votes. In 1999, this slipped to 7,339. He knew the local BJP had failed him.

Yogi Adityanath is chief minister, and Mohammed Irfan is happy. After the BJP swept the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, Irfan released 20 posters depicting Yogi in heroic avatars, among them Lord Hanuman, Bhagat Singh, ‘Singham’ and Lord Rama. His demand: Make Yogi chief minister of UP. Irfan, who runs a garage on Gorakhpur’s Bank Road, said, “He is straightforward, good to the good and bad to the bad.”

After almost 60 days in the chief minister’s chair, Yogi has had bouquets and brickbats tossed at him. The latest row broke out when UP Advocate General Raghavendra Singh told the Allahabad High Court that the government said Yogi could not be prosecuted in the 2007 Gorakhpur riots. Complainant Parvez Parvaz told the media: “Jiski lathi usi ki bhains [He who wields the sticks owns the buffalo].”

Yogi fans say he is using the lathi for more than that. For example, at least 40 dons have found themselves shunted to jails far from their stomping grounds. BSP MLA and don Mukhtar Ansari is now in Banda jail, 300km from Lucknow. Hitman Munna Bajrangi was moved from Jaunpur to Pilibhit, 500km away. Don-turned-politician Atique Ahmed is in Deoria jail, 300km from Allahabad. Ansari said his transfer was engineered by a Union minister who wants to kill him. Ahmed has gone to the Allahabad High Court saying he was moved without the court’s consent.

Those close to Yogi say that he always moves swiftly, however small the issue. Kumar Harsh, professor of defence studies, Gorakhpur University, remembers Yogi’s first ‘road show’ in 1994. Some youth had a tiff with a tailor and the issue snowballed into a face-off between communities. Yogi and his men blocked Gorakhpur’s busy Gol Ghar area in support of the youth. Yogi had made his mark, and local youth were eating out of his hand.

Gorakhpur resident Tripati Lal pooh-poohed the notion that Yogi fights only Muslim excesses. Lal recalled the murder of paediatrician Dr J.P. Singh by extortionist Amit Mohan in March 2003. “Yogi and his supporters blocked the national highway seeking action against Mohan,” Lal said. Mohan was later killed in an encounter.

Faruk Adnan Shah, a prominent community leader in Gorakhpur, said that some BJP leaders felt threatened by Yogi’s image-building exercises. In 1998, Yogi took over the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat from his guru, Mahant Avaidyanath. That year, Yogi’s victory margin was 26,206 votes. In 1999, this slipped to 7,339 votes. Yogi knew that the local BJP machinery had failed him. So, in 2002, he launched Hindu Yuva Vahani and Gorakhnath Poorvanchal Vikas Manch. In the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, his lead climbed to 1.42 lakh. In 2014, it stood at 3.12 lakh.

36ansari Keys to the kingdom: Ansari was treasurer of the Gorakhnath Math | Pawan Kumar

Over the years, Yogi has matured as a politician, and, of late, his moves mirror that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Immediately after he took over, Modi had ordered a clean-up of Union government offices. On his first visit to Lal Bahadur Shastri Bhawan, Lucknow—offices of the chief minister and secretaries—Yogi ticked off officials for the betel-juice stains on the walls. Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said, “He asked employees to not consume pan or pan masala during duty hours.” Hours later, Yogi banned the use of pan and tobacco in schools, colleges and hospitals.

Another gambit by Yogi was to cancel 15 state holidays marking the birth or death anniversary of eminent personalities. Surprisingly, this attracted praise from the Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav. “Instead of being given holidays, students should be taught about these leaders on that day,” Mulayam said.

Then came a populist move promised in the BJP manifesto: waiving farm loans. The first cabinet meeting waived farm loans of up to Rs 1 lakh. Pankaj Tiwari, a small-time farmer from Harauni, said, “Because of the bad harvest, I was broke. This waiver gives me a fresh breath of life.”

The waiver is expected to benefit about 21 million small farmers. Additionally, the government will also write off Rs 5,630 crore worth non-performing assets in the farming sector. This is estimated to benefit seven lakh farmers.

Arvind Mohan, professor of economics, Lucknow University, said, “This waiver would cost the state about 70 per cent of its development budget. Technically, the decision is not feasible. But, there are financial instruments through which the government can reduce its burden.” The government is expected to float Kisan Rahat Bonds to generate funds.

38-the-monks-men

Former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said, “Yogi is older than me in age, but he is much younger in terms of work done. The waiver is a farce. They promised to waive the whole loan, but betrayed farmers by capping it at Rs 1 lakh.”

While Akhilesh is combative, his step-brother and wife seem to be cozying up to Yogi. Aparna and Prateek Yadav visited the chief minister at his residence on March 24 and Yogi returned the courtesy by visiting their 64-acre cow shelter on April 1.

For now, the opposition is united in its their mistrust of Yogi. SP leader Naresh Agrawal said, “If he divides Hindus and Muslims, SP will fight him every step.” Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati was frank: “Yogi is implementing the RSS agenda because the BJP wants to win the 2019 general elections by polarising votes.”

Neither the BJP nor its allies had fielded a Muslim candidate in the 403 assembly seats. But, surprisingly, Yogi’s ministerial list featured Mohsin Raza, 49—who is neither an MLA nor an MLC—now minister for IT and electronics, waqf and haj. A former right-hand bat and right-arm medium pacer for UP, Raza was trained at the MRF Pace Foundation, Chennai. He also had a stint in showbiz, as model and actor. A confidant of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Raza started his political career with the Congress and crossed over recently.

As part of reaching out to the minorities, the Yogi government has announced a marriage assistance scheme. In every district, 100 minority couples can avail of the assistance annually. Raza said 20 per cent Muslims in UP would benefit, as the government would give Rs 20,000 to each couple and bear the entire wedding expenses.

The Gorakhnath Math’s hospital has also endeared Yogi to Muslims in the region. Mohammed Maan, 30, said his wife had a complicated delivery. “I did not have much money,” he said. “Yogi ji gave me Rs 500 to buy medicines, and then called the hospital staff. The care was totally free.”

Mohammed Yaseen Ansari, former treasurer of Gorakhnath Math, has been working with Yogi since 1997. “I have never been discriminated against,” Ansari told THE WEEK. “I have full access to the Math.” In 2002, Yogi attended the wedding of his daughter, Jareena Khatun. “Yogi repeatedly asked me about the arrangements and asked me if I needed any money,” Ansari said. “He always inquired about my son and wanted him to study well.”

There were a couple of flashpoints in the past few weeks. The crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses was one. But, it was deftly defused. The All India Meat and Livestock Exporters’ Association says UP’s meat exports were worth Rs 26,685 crore annually, and a blanket ban would cost the state Rs 11,350 crore in revenue. Around 25 lakh people work in the industry in the state.

Another flashpoint was over the ‘anti-Romeo squad’, which was formed in all 1,500 police stations statewide. Amit Rastogi and his wife were shopping on Lucknow’s Janpath on March 23. While his wife was in a shop, Rastogi waited outside. Cops heckled him for loitering. “Seeing the police questioning me, my wife came running,” he said. Shivram Yadav, SP, Lucknow East, told THE WEEK that “it was a minor mistake” for which the cops had apologised to Rastogi. The Allahabad High Court has now instructed the government that there should be no shaving of heads or blackening of faces under the pretext of curbing eve-teasing.

Another issue that Yogi has taken up is the alleged corruption in big-ticket projects. He transferred 20 senior IAS officers, who were close to chief ministers Mayawati and Akhilesh. Quite a few Akhilesh initiatives are under the scanner, including his pet project—the Gomti River Channelisation Project. A three-member committee headed by retired Allahabad High Court judge Alok Kumar Singh is probing the project and will submit a report in 45 days. The project started off with a budget of Rs 656 crore, which later jumped to Rs 1,153 crore.

The fight against corruption and cutting down on trappings of power are, in fact, cliché. Yogi knows this well. So, he is fast-tracking development in two areas that will help attract rural votes—power and health. He intends to connect all homes to the power grid by 2018. On April 14, UP signed an MoU with the Centre, and waived surcharge on electricity dues. Power Minister Shrikant Sharma said the waiver would cost the exchequer Rs 3,500 crore. Conservative estimates say the state needs 22,000MW to ensure power to all. Add to that an upgrade of the distribution network. Ballpark figure for the total bill is Rs 10,000 crore.

In health care, the government has rolled out 150 hi-tech ambulances to take critical rural cases to tertiary care centres. Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh said more ambulances would be added to the fleet soon.

U.P. Singh, former vice chancellor of Poorvanchal University, has been friends with Yogi since 1994. He said the chief minister was also worried about creating jobs. “He has been working towards reopening the Fertilizer Corporation of India plant in Gorakhpur,” Singh said. “As a man he is very soft, but he is quite rigid about his principles.” A man can be uncompromising. A chief minister cannot. And, Yogi knows this better than most.

Yogi has changed, maybe

Abdul Majeed, 58, manager of the Madarsa Arbia Anjuman Islamia, was waiting at Gorakhnath math on an April afternoon. He wanted Yogi Adityanath to settle a dispute within the madrasa management committee. Majeed said, “Now that he is chief minister, just a phone call from his office would settle the matter. Even if he were not the chief minister, his intervention would solve the issue.” Many Muslims like him believe that Yogi’s direct involvement sorts out things faster.

Six days after becoming chief minister, Yogi visited Gorakhpur on March 25. Muslim residents from around the math welcomed him with banners and buntings. An excited Anjumnissa said, “We never felt scared to approach mahantji when we needed help. He always helped us out.”

Faruk Adnan Shah aka Miya Saheb, a prominent community leader, is hopeful: “Initially, Yogi’s stance was anti-Muslim. Considering the way he is working now, Muslims need not be apprehensive. The community feels that he will work for its long-term welfare.”

Some feel that the leopard cannot change its spots. Maulana Mohammad Sajid Rashidi, a cleric, said: “He has always followed a divisive policy to further his goals. How can he take the state on the path of development?” Congress leader Rizwan Arshad said, “It is joke that the BJP made him chief minister. He has always played divisive politics and he will work to further the agenda of the RSS.” Recently, there were mixed reactions when Yogi said that namaaz and suryanamaskar had similarities.

Popular Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Sadiq said, “He has been doing certain things right. Community members should not be sacred of his government. Rather, they must beware of their community leaders like Mohammed Ayub and Asaduddin Owaisi.”

The community’s wariness comes from Yogi’s old speeches. Now a lack of options seems to be drawing them closer to the BJP. Miya Saheb said, “Old speeches of Yogi still worry Muslims. But, the community is not happy with our own leaders who failed to prevent riots and failed to get the guilty booked. So, we are hopeful that Yogi will fulfil the BJP’s promise of ‘Sabka saath, Sabka vikas’.”

Cleric Maulana Tauqeer Raza echoed this view: “People were looking for change. So, they gave the BJP a chance. Yogi’s biggest challenge would be to work for the betterment of all communities.”

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