As crimes against women soar in the state, the forthcoming Assembly bypolls in Uttar Pradesh could not have come at a worse time for CM Yogi Adityanath.
Billed as a precursor to the bigger battle which will take place in a little over a year, the bypolls are expected to serve as an acid test for Adityanath, who has recently come under fire from opposition parties, Dalit outfits and rights activists over his alleged failure to ensure the safety of women in the state.
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Be it the alleged gang rape and murder of a Dalit teen in Hathras, or suicides of sexually assaulted and molested victims in other parts of the state, UP has continued to hit headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The fact that many of the victims of these crimes hailed from SC communities has only compounded the woes of the saffron party, which is finding itself targeted as 'anti-Dalit'.
Another problem for the saffron party is to counter the opposition's charge that the state government is also 'anti-Brahmin'. In addition to the opposition, many Brahmin leaders have also accused the BJP of targeting members of the community, citing police encounters.
Even BJP leaders here have admitted that it will be a big challenge for them to retain the seats that the party had won in the 2017 Assembly polls. A dismal showing in the bypolls could further weaken Adityanath's position, according to political analysts.
While caste could also play an important role in the outcome of the bypolls, the opposition Congress, BSP and Samajwadi Party have decided to make law and order, 'atrocities on Dalits' and crimes against women their key planks.
The bypolls are crucial for the Congress as their results will reflect upon the leadership of party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who has invested a great deal of political capital in state party president Ajai Kumar Lallu.
The bypolls will also test the SP and the BSP, which had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in an alliance, but are now on their own. Analysts opined that the results of the bypolls could reflect a 'broad trend' in this politically crucial state.