UP BJP chief announces "We will fight 2022 polls under CM Yogi Adityanath's leadership"

Settling the question who will lead BJP in UP 2022 polls, the state's party president Swatantra Dev Singh said that incumbent Yogi Adityanath will lead the saffron party in the polls. His comment comes a day after Home Minister Amit Shah summoned Singh and State General Secretary (Org) Sunil Bansal to Delhi hurriedly. The discussion between the ex-BJP chief and the two state heads will be regarding BJP's organisation and the all-important state polls.

UP BJP chief: 'BJP will fight under Yogi's leadership'

Speaking to reporters on Friday in Lucknow, he said, "Corruption and hooliganism have ended and development is taking place. We will fight the 2022 elections under hardworking and honest Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath". His comment comes two days after deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya said the party's national leadership will decide under whom the upcoming elections will be fought.

On Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad  predicted that the saffron party will win the UP polls in 2022 with 300+ seats. When asked about BJP's CM face, Maurya said, "Under whose leadership the BJP will fight the next Assembly elections in the state will be decided by the national leadership of the BJP and the parliamentary board. It does not matter under whose leadership the election is being fought. The BJP is the largest party in the world. It is not a private limited company like the SP, BSP and the Congress".

Yogi's Delhi sojourn

Amid rumours of UP cabinet expansion, CM Yogi Adityanath met top BJP leaders including - PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and party chief JP Nadda on 10-11 June as BJP gears for seven state elections in 2022. Sources state that there will be no change in party leadership or the state government structure and that a coordination committee will be formed under Adityanath's leadership to bridge the gap between the Centre and state leadership. Recently, several top RSS and BJP leaders visited UP and praised the Yogi government's COVID handling. PM Modi has also lauded Adityanath's initiative to extend emotional support, healthcare, and legal aid to elderly citizens via 'Elderline'.

As of date, several fronts have cropped up to challenge the ruling BJP. While Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj is eyeing an alliance with AIMIM, Azad Samaj Party, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party; parties like AAP, Shiv Sena, and JDU have announced that they will be contesting for the UP polls. Samajwadi Party and BSP have decided to not ally and shut their doors to Congres, opting to ally with smaller parties if needed or go solo. Since then, Congress has aggressively campaigned under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi in the state, eyeing its solo return. In 2017, amid tumultuous family fights in the Yadav family - with Akhilesh throwing out uncle Shivpal and replacing Mulayam Singh Yadav as the party chief, the then-UP CM stitched an alliance with Congress - with Akhilesh and Rahul Gandhi holding joint rallies. This poll-alliance failed miserably, winning only 55 seats, while the BJP won 312 seats - ushering in Yogi Adityanath's maiden term.