Uttar Pradesh: Akhilesh’s bold decision would keep Yogi under check

It was a bold decision when Akhilesh Yadav decided to retain his Karhal assembly seat and resign from the Lok Sabha seat of Azamgarh as this decision will not only put pressure on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath but also keep his own cadre intact.

“If Akhilesh Yadav has emerged as the 'face' to take on Yogi Adityanath, he should have remained active in Uttar Pradesh politics. And for this, what could be a better place than State Legislative Assembly,” Manoj Bhadra, a political analyst said.

It was the fourth consecutive defeat for the Samajwadi Party under the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav. After a resounding victory in the 2012 assembly election when SP, under the leadership of Akhilesh dethroned Mayawati, Samajwadi Party lost elections in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, 2017 assembly elections, 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and now 2022 state elections.

But the silver lining in the 2022 defeat is that the Samajwadi Party was able to bounce back and emerged as the biggest challenger to the BJP. In 2017 the party had won 47 seats but this time the party itself won 111 seats and the rest 14 were won by its allies.

“With his decision to retain assembly seat, Akhilesh has shown his intent to lead the party from the front. Otherwise, he would have been blamed for running away from the battlefield. His presence in the state assembly will infuse the opposition and keep the government at its tenterhook,” Bhadra said.

He said this decision will help in consolidating and sustaining the gains the Samajwadi Party got in the 2022 assembly election. As he is preparing for the 2024 election, his presence in the assembly would make the way easier for the party. “By opting for retaining the assembly seat Akhilesh Yadav has given a clear signal that he plans to consolidate the newly earned support of the numerically small social groups included in the OBCs category,” he said.

Akhilesh was an MP from Azamgarh and had contested the state assembly election for the first time from Karhal in the Mainpuri district despite initially declaring that he will not contest assembly elections.

Nomita P Kumar of Giri Institute of Development Studies said that as the 2022 election was a bi-polar fight, the Samajwadi Party effectively challenged the BJP. This is evident from the results as the party made a clean sweep in Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh. BJP’s tally was reduced from 325 in 2017 to 250 in 2022.

BJP’s allies have won 23 seats in this election.

“Akhilesh Yadav will obviously be the leader of the opposition. This will enable him not only to keep his flock together but also consolidate his hold in the party’’, said an SP leader. He added "Akhilesh Yadav, as leader of the opposition will also keep the aspiration of his estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav under check, who has also been elected to the assembly. Shivpal Yadav had floated his own political party 'Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party' (Lohia) and he contested the assembly election on the symbol of the Samajwadi Party.