Yogi Adityanath on Thursday became the first chief minister to retain power in Uttar Pradesh since the 1985 assembly elections. Back then, Congress’s ND Tiwari fought and won the polls, holding on to the CM’s chair.

Additionally, Yogi Adityanath is the only chief minister of the state with a full five years in the office to win the subsequent election and retain it.

This is really a historic achievement in a state that has seen 21 CMs in the last 70 years. But how did it become possible?

Was Yogi facing a pro-incumbency sentiment in the state and the criticism of mismanaging the Covid second wave was just political opportunism of rivals?

Or was his re-election pushed by the most visible factor in the state – Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav again fighting polls without much active support from his father Mulayam Singh Yadav?

GOVERNANCE THE BACKBONE

The administration of the state faced criticism for mishandling the second wave of the pandemic. It was combined with two other big issues that could have easily thwarted the BJP’s chances in this assembly election – unemployment, and farmers’ protest over three agricultural laws.

But Yogi Adityanath’s administration decided to overcome the criticism through its performance only, as suggested by the data available. And the image of the SP being a party supporting ‘gunda’ and ‘mafia’ elements only further added ammunition to the BJP’s election campaign.

The Yogi administration ensured that the effects of the social welfare schemes run by the BJP-led Centre as well as those introduced by the state government reached the masses with uniformity. Simultaneously, it also worked to improve the worsening law and order situation in the state, something that became a big point in its favour. Also, taking back the newly introduced farm laws by the central government was also a timely step that helped the party. Yes, unemployment remains a concern but voters, it seems, decided to give the BJP a chance again – based on its better performance than previous governments – and the SP’s image.

LAW AND ORDER – TIGHTENING THE GRIP

Law and order was a big problem in the state. Uttar Pradesh, along with Bihar, is seen at the top of India’s crime index and Akhilesh Yadav’s SP was constantly called a ‘gunda’ party. As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures, UP was among the states most affected by violent crimes and gender violence in India. This directly affected its social and economic indicators.

Five years down the line, Yogi seems to have done a good job on this front. Violent crime incidents like murders came down by almost 23% over the four-year period from 2016 to 2020, for which the NCRB data is available. Cases of kidnapping and abduction also saw a significant drop of 30%.