LUCKNOW: On March 10, Yogi Adityanath became the first chief minister to return to power in Uttar Pradesh in the last 37 years. He is also the first chief minister to complete a 5-year term and retain power in the next elections in the state.
Yogi’s outstanding achievements are historic, not just because he set some records in the electoral politics of the most populous state of India, but more so because his rule witnessed massive protests spurred by the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the hardships during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Under Yogi’s leadership, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 255 seats in the 403-strong legislative assembly in the polls held in February-March.
What made people choose a monk’s leadership in a state that has seen 21 chief ministers in the last 70 years?
Improved Law & Order
The Yogi Adityanath government faced severe criticism from the Opposition parties for what they called “blatant violation” of law and human rights in the state. Even courts and members of civil society pulled up the BJP government on several occasions.
The people of Uttar Pradesh, however, have a different view of the Yogi government’s handling of the law and order situation. As per a survey conducted by community social media platform Local Circles, 78 percent of the citizens of the state felt that the law and order situation had improved in the state in the last five years.
Out of 4,897 responses received from 51 districts for the survey, 56 per cent of participants said there has been a “significant improvement” in law & order in the last 5 years, while 22 per cent felt “some improvement”. Only a meager 7 per cent of participants were of the view that there was “no improvement” in the law and order situation.
Significant Progress In Cleanliness Level
The Yogi government implemented various cleanliness drives across Uttar Pradesh over the years. In October 2019, the state government launched an extensive cleanliness campaign with a special focus on single-use plastic goods covering all 75 districts. In a strict message to government officials tasked with cleanliness exercises, the government had said that they would be held accountable if the state did perform well in the cleanliness drive.
And the efforts of the government apparently left a very good impression on the psyche of voters in Uttar Pradesh. The survey report said that 80 per cent of the participants opined that the cleanliness level had improved in their districts.
Out of the total 4,897 participants, the majority of 56 per cent citizens said there was a “significant improvement”, 24 per cent said “some improvement”, while 10 per cent residents felt there was “no improvement” in the cleanliness level in their districts during Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s tenure.
Corruption Crumbled
One of the major achievements of the state BJP government that senior leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath highlighted was the major reduction in corruption under Yogi.
In the last five years, the government took a strict stance against corrupt practices and irregularities in government departments. It prosecuted several corrupt officials, including engineers, and IAS and IPS officers.
65 percent of citizens, who participated in the Local Circles’ survey, praised the Yogi government for curbing corruption in the last five years.
39 per cent of people stated that corruption fell “significantly” in the Yogi government, the Local Circles’ survey said, adding that 26 per cent participants said “minor reduction” while 20 per cent expressed disappointment having the view that there was “no reduction” in corrupt practices in the state.
Ease Of Doing Business
The company received 5,511 responses from the residents of Uttar Pradesh, out of which, 76 per cent believe that doing business in the state has become easier in the last five years.
Out of 5,511 responses, 51 per cent people felt that there was a “significant improvement” in Ease of Doing Business in the state under the Yogi government, 25 per cent said “some improvement”, while 13 per cent of UP residents stated that there was “no improvement”.
Uttar Pradesh was placed at second position among states in the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) in a report of the Ministry of Labour and Employment’s Labour Bureau.
The Yogi government is credited with reportedly bringing an estimated investment of over 88,000 crore in the last four years.
Power Supply
According to the Local Circles’ survey, 76 per cent of Uttar Pradesh citizens said that power supply had improved in their districts. Out of the total 4,901 responses received, 55 per cent stated that the situation regarding power supply had seen “significant” improvement, while 21 per cent said there was “some improvement”. 12 percent of the residents felt that the Yogi government failed to change the state of affairs regarding electricity supply, whereas five per cent said the situation had “gotten worse”.
In all, it was the perceived good governance that won the vital round of political battle for Yogi Adityanath.