Amit Shah, the star of the 2014 elections who delivered an outstanding verdict for the BJP in the humongous state of Uttar Pradesh, is up for one of the most arduous battles in the upcoming assemble elections in the state.
After being welcomed to the sight of broken chairs, posters of "Gen.Dyers go Back" and utter chaos in his own backyard of Gujarat , it remains to be seen the next move , BJP's president and seasoned political campaigner, Amit Shah plays to consolidate the upper caste votes while also expand the BJP imprint amongst non-OBC, non-Kurmi Dalit votes in the Hindi heartlands.
Alarm bells have already been clanging for the UP elections for quite some time now, with the local unit of BJP in UP experiencing internal friction amongst the various factions . From old timers such as the seasoned MP, Yogi Adityanath being livid with rage at not being offered the CMship as well as BJP's Bajrangi in UP , Vinay Katiyar adding a communal tinge by making noises about the Ram Mandir is not helping the cause of expanding the BJP footprint with the voters. To add to the woes, Rajnath Singh is adamant in his non-acceptance to take charge of the UP poll campaign.
It would do great good to Amit Shah to pay heed to the local opinion received from the various constituencies - making the sitting MP/MLA accountable for their areas. Sole reliance on the attacks on the incumbent and other parties for the existing issues seems to only fall on the deaf ears of the voters who are looking for tangible practical solutions rather than mere sloganeering of which there is no paucity in any case.
The entire opposition has ganged up against the BJP with attacks being specifically targeted at Modi across the party public meetings. Given the complex caste math, the BJP has not been able to project a local face to drive the leadership home as in the case of Assam. This,in turn, has gradually contributed to turning this contest on the lines of something similar to what was witnessed in Bihar and Delhi.
If the BJP hopes to finish with a medal on the other side of the fence in this electoral race, it is significant that they fatten their existing support base. However, given the current scenario, BJP's over reliance on the upper caste and Kshatriya support seems to be fading away as well with both the communities exploring the possibilities of steering towards the BSP and the Congress.
Lack of clarity on the local leadership and snubbing of the community specific representatives may cost the BJP the comfortable position they had gained after the May 2014 elections.
At the moment, Uttar Pradesh is an open field however, sans a front runner.
