OPINION | Is BJP readying UP CM Yogi Adityanath for PM post in LS poll 2024?

To garner votes for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a massive rally in Hyderabad city on Saturday. The rally was so huge that for a moment it appeared that he has come to woo voters for a Member of Parliament!

In the rally, he said, some people asked him if Hyderabad can be renamed as Bhagyanagar? “I said – why not? I told them we renamed Faizabad as Ayodhya and Allahabad as Prayagraj after BJP came into power. Why can’t Hyderabad be renamed as Bhagyanagar?” added Yogi Adityanath.

However, what Yogi Adityanath said in the rally, this opinion piece is not about that. It is about-Is the saffron party readying UP CM Yogi Adityanath for PM post in LS poll 2024?

When it comes to campaigning for the BJP in state assembly elections/Lok Sabha polls, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has always been on the “A-list”.

Making a pan-India presence, Yogi Adityanath has campaigned for the BJP across the length and breadth of India.

Remember, ahead of the 2019 general elections, Yogi campaigned for the BJP in Kerala?

Yogi Adityanath kept up the pressure on the ruling CPM government. He walked 11 km from Keechery to Kannur. He had launched a very strong attack on the state government.

In February 2019, in Pathanamthitta, Kerala, UP CM while addressing a pre-election meeting of BJP workers said, only the saffron party can protect Sabarimala and the age-old practices at the Ayyappa temple.

In Madhya Pradesh state assembly polls 2018 too, UP CM Yogi Adityanath urged voters to vote for his party. Reportedly, he was allotted a dedicated chopper by the party for the campaign.

Adityanath did more than two dozen rallies and was campaigning in the state for two days. His slogan– ‘Jo Ram ka nahin, woh hamare kisi kaam ka nahin’ (Those who are not with Lord Ram are of no use for us) was quite a hit in the state.

Even in the recently help Bihar Assembly poll, Yogi had campaigned in Kewati, Lalganj, Bakhtiyarpur, Bisfi, Raxaul, Katihar, Sitamarhi, Valmikinagar, Jhanjharpur, Daraundha, Jamui, Garia Kothi, Siwan, Karakat, Arwal, Paliganj, Terari and Ramgarh.

“He is not only an able administrator but has also been one of the fiercest leaders who had the ability to sway voters irrespective of the caste lines,” said state BJP Chief Swatantra Dev Singh and quoted by ZeeBiz.

I have been following Yogi Adityanath since a long time and honestly speaking the pan-India presence which his party allows him to enjoys is something which I have not seen in the case of other BJP CMs. Obviously, being chief minister of most populous state (which sends 80 MPs in Parliament) has its own advantages!

However, to conclude, I will say that these are just my observations that may or may not be correct. And as per the BJP’s “not giving tickets to leaders above 75-year-age” criteria, PM Modi can fight for one more term as presently he is 70-year-old and by 2024 he won’t cross the 75-year-age cut-off point.

There is a quite long time for LS poll 2024 and a lot can happen by then.

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About the author: Anurag Sason is journalist with more than 7 years of experience in mainstream journalism. He has worked in newspaper, news agency, electronic media and digital media. Presently, he is working as Senior Editor-News in Likee app. He tweets at @AnuragSason

Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author are personal.

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