COVID management: BJP to review Yogi's performance as CM

Almost a year ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and on the heels of a none-too-impressive performance by the BJP in the panchayat and local body polls, the Yogi Adityanath government is under review by the party.

The Yogi government has also come under intense scrutiny over the management of the COVID crisis in the state. The most populous state of the country is one of the top five states worst hit by the pandemic.

Also read: BJP’s loss in UP panchayats a ‘warning’ ahead of 2022 assembly polls

Media reports said two BJP leaders from Delhi, BL Santosh and former Union Minister Radha Mohan Singh started meeting UP ministers in Lucknow on May 31. They are on a two-day review exercise, party sources said. The two leaders also reportedly had a closed-door meeting with the Chief Minister at his official residence.

Reports said the two leaders sought feedback on the political situation on the ground and public perception about the ruling party, especially in the wake of the pandemic. The BJP huddle came a day after the party launched relief work through its ‘Sewa hi Sangathan’ campaign ostensible to blunt the opposition attack on the handling of the COVID situation.

State BJP general secretary Govind Narayan Shukla said the two leaders have stressed reaching out to maximum number of people affected by COVID-19. “The leadership also decided to help the state government in ramping up the vaccination drive in urban and rural areas,” Shukla told media.

A BJP press release said the leaders were reviewing the work done by the party for COVID relief across the state over a few months and even earlier.

Also read: More bodies found floating in Ganga, dozens buried on the banks

The image of the Yogi government has taken a severe beating after bodies were found floating in the Ganga or buried in shallow graves beside the sacred river in many districts. The state government has accused the media of misreporting, claiming the Chief Minister has constantly been on the ground touring the entire state.

There have been reports of the party representatives airing grievances against their own government. NDTV quoted MLA Rakesh Rathore as saying that lawmakers like him did not really matter and that too many statements to the media may lead to a “sedition” case against him.

Sources said the central party team would assess what went wrong in the recent panchayat elections in the state. The results showed big losses for the BJP in its strongholds. The party suffered a setback in local body elections in Ayodhya and Mathura. In Gorakhpur, the home turf of the Chief Minister, the BJP was neck-and-neck with the Samajwadi Party.