Will Yogi Adityanath still become UP CM if BJP gets fewer seats? Here’s what JP Nadda says

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief JP Nadda, who has been extensively campaigning for his party, has exuded confidence that his party will emerge victorious in the ongoing assembly elections in all major states, including Uttar Pradesh.

Rejecting speculation that this election will not be a “cakewalk” for the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Nadda said that the party leadership remains confident of BJP winning 300 plus seats and Yogi Adityanath becoming the chief minister again.

JP Nadda made these remarks while replying to some tough questions during an exclusive interview with Zee News Editor-In-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary in his popular prime time show DNA on Tuesday evening.  During the interview, the BJP president spoke on the likely outcome of the keenly contested assembly elections, his party’s performance, anti-incumbency, polarisation and the prospects of Yogi Adityanath becoming the chief minister again.

When asked what if the BJP wins in UP but gets much fewer seats than before, will Yogi Adityanath would still become CM, Nadda said the party fought the elections under Yogi Adityanath and it remains confident of winning more than 300 seats. Nadda said “no question of Yogi Adityanath not becoming UP CM’’ arises but the final call will be taken by the BJP parliamentary board. 

When asked to comment on the likely outcome of these polls, Nadda said, “The election is taking place in 5 states, we are in power in four, we are confident of retaining power. In Punjab, we are fighting on the maximum number of seats this time, we are about to improve our performance there.” 

When quizzed about the Yogi’s popular “80 Vs 20” rhetoric which possibly saw the Muslims uniting and voting against BJP in the previous phases of polls, Nadda said, “BJP  never talks of division and disintegration, it talks of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas. We want to take everyone along.”

The BJP chief added, “Our opponents have been spreading misinformation about us for a long time, trying to keep a section of the society separate from us, they are also successful, they are successful in elections, but our efforts are on. We never asked the religion of the beneficiaries of the Ayushmaan Bharat scheme. We always want to give rights to the poor. I hope sooner or later they will understand that BJP is working towards changing lives for the better.”

Replying to another question about BJP's social engineering failing against Akhilesh Yadav’s social engineering in UP polls this time, Nadda said, “ The SP has always done social engineering. They are now with the RLD. They think it's Mathematics, they forget it's Chemistry actually. People no more vote on the directions of their 'thekedaars' (village heads, local leaders etc) anymore. They have their own thinking ability these days. They exercise their own will. The Congress and other parties have ruled by getting these thekedars in their favour, but it doesn't work anymore. People have their Chemistry set with PM Narendra Modi.”

When asked as to who would take the credit or the blame for the final poll outcome, Nadda said, “We think collectively, we work collectively. We celebrate victories, we acknowledge defeats as well. PM Narendra Modi is the top leader of our party - we are using his popularity in every state. The Chief Ministers are implementing party and centre's development agenda in their respective states effectively. I have the responsibility of keeping the party cadre encouraged. In such a situation, if results come up in our favour, the credit would obviously go to PM Narendra Modi. If we fell short, I will be responsible.”

The BJP chief made these remarks just as the ongoing assembly polls, which began from western Uttar Pradesh, now enters the heartland of Purvanchal. It may be noted that CM Yogi Adityanath’s own turf - Gorakhpur and the surrounding region - goes to the polls on March 3 in phase 6.

In this phase, a lot will depend on how Mayawati-led BSP performs in the region that has traditionally been defined by Dalit and backward caste politics. In phase 6, polls will be held in UP in 57 assembly constituencies across 10 districts of Balrampur, Siddharthnagar, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar, Gorakhpur, Deoria and Ballia.