Convinced that its move to play the nationalist card has resonated with the people, the Bharatiya Janata Party wants to keep the issue alive till next year’s crucial assembly election in Uttar Pradesh. As a step in that direction, BJP national president Amit Shah is said to be keen on appointing the party’s controversial Lok Sabha MP from Gorakhpur, Yogi Adityanath, as the president of its Uttar Pradesh unit.

Although there are several contenders for the post, Shah is pushing for Yogi Adityanath’s appointment since he believes the fiery orator can keep up the momentum on the issue of nationalism, which the BJP has used to counter opposition attacks on the issue of intolerance and right to dissent.

Shah is said to be of the view that Adityanath is a good choice since he is young, is a fiery speaker, and has a sizeable religious following. The BJP president also favours him because he believes the Gorakhpur MP has the capacity to polarise voters on communal lines and consolidate the Hindu vote in BJP’s favour.

This is in line with the BJP position to abandon the development card and focus on the Hindutva agenda, which is being presented in the garb of ultra-nationalism after the Jawaharlal Nehru University row. Convinced that the narrative has changed in its favour, the party has decided to go on the offensive and paint its political opponents as “anti-national” for supporting those who shouted “anti-India slogans” in the central university.

The BJP has already launched a three-day countrywide campaign, billed as the Jan Swabhimaan Abhiyan, to underline its “nationalist” credentials and build public opinion in its favour. The saffron party believes the move could pay rich political dividends, first in the assembly elections in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, and then in the Uttar Pradesh polls next year.

Hindutva icon

Shah has a lot riding on the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. As the state in-charge during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Shah was hailed as the “man of the match” after the BJP’s clean sweep in Uttar Pradesh. However, the BJP president’s reputation as the party’s key strategist took a hit after its humiliating defeats in Delhi and Bihar. It is, therefore, critical for Shah to deliver Uttar Pradesh for the party and prove that he still retains his magic touch.

Yogi Adityanath’s appointment as the Uttar Pradesh president fits in with Shah’s reported plans to polarise the polity in the run-up to the election. The Gorakhpur MP, who is known as Mahantji in eastern Uttar Pradesh, has emerged as a Hindutva icon for some in the state. His provocative speeches, aimed at stoking communal passions, are replete with calls for Hindu unity and references to love jihad and conversions.

Adityanath has courted controversy on several occasions with statements like asking Hindu men to marry 100 Muslim women if one Hindu woman is forcibly converted or the promise to install Gauri-Ganesh idols in all mosques.

Although he has been pulled up by the Election Commission on several occasions and his hate speeches have even sparked riots in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Adityanath has not relented. In fact, he emerged as the BJP’s star campaigner in Uttar Pradesh and is in great demand during elections.

Facing resistance

Given his personal fan following, the Gorakhpur MP was given charge of the BJP’s election campaign in last year’s bypolls in Uttar Pradesh. Shah is now keen on giving him a pivotal role in next year’s assembly polls.

However, the BJP president is facing strong resistance from a section of the party. Home Minister Rajnath Singh and his Cabinet colleague Kalraj Mishra are said to be opposed to Yogi Adityanath on the ground that he failed to deliver in last year’s by-elections. Rajnath Singh is learnt to be pushing for state party leader Dharampal Singh, who belongs to the Lodh community. It is argued that his appointment will help consolidate the non-Yadav backward classes in the party’s favour.

Other names under consideration include Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha, who belongs to the Bhumihar community. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah are both favourably inclined to him, but Sinha does not fit into the state’s caste matrix as Bhumihars have a negligible presence in Uttar Pradesh, unlike in Bihar. Lucknow Mayor Dinesh Sharma and Swatantra Dev Singh are also in the running for the important position.