UP and Bihar are likely to be affected by the BJP’s choice of Yadav as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh

After the Bharatiya Janata Party surprised political analysts once again by appointing party legislator Mohan Yadav as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, almost everyone agreed that the choice would have an influence beyond the state of the CM-designate.

On Monday, at the latter’s Bhopal house, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister-designate Mohan Yadav met with previous Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. (PTI)
On Monday, at the latter’s Bhopal house, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister-designate Mohan Yadav met with previous Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. (PTI)

Bihar’s neighbor, Uttar Pradesh, will also be affected by the decision, according to those analyzing the political implications of the action. There are 120 Lok Sabha seats across the two states with sizable Yadav populations.

Seema, Mohan Yadav’s spouse, is from Uttar Pradesh and is also descended from members of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). In August 2022, Mohan Yadav traveled to Sultanpur with his spouse to see his ill father-in-law, Brahmdeen Yadav, who was ninety-six.

Speaking over the phone from Sultanpur, Brahmdeen said, “I want both UP and MP to develop.”

By breaking through the Yadav belt in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections of 2022, the BJP defied expectations of the Samajwadi Party’s comeback. Now that the Madhya Pradesh chief minister-designate has ties to Uttar Pradesh, the BJP will undoubtedly try to mount a stronger campaign ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the most populous state, where Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party is the main rival of the party.

It is true that the two largest political dynasties to whom the Yadavs have historically shown loyalty are Mulayam Singh Yadav’s in Uttar Pradesh and Lalu Yadav’s in Bihar. It is evident that the BJP is now demonstrating resolve to destroy the outdated ideas by supporting a Yadav face in MP, according to a top BJP official in Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP does not support caste politics, but this choice will undermine the party that openly declares its Yadav allegiance, according to Uttar Pradesh minister Girish Yadav, the only other Yadav member of the Yogi 2.0 cabinet.

Six Yadav parliamentarians are in the BJP, two of them are each from Uttar Pradesh’s Rajya Sabha, MLCs, and MLAs.

The BJP is once again heavily depending on the party-ruled state of Uttar Pradesh, where the Yadavs are the most powerful OBC group, to secure a hat-trick of victories at the Centre.

In many Lok Sabha seats, including Etawah, Badaun, Mainpuri, Firozabad, Sant Kabir Nagar, Ballia, Jaunpur, and Azamgarh, the approximately 9% of Yadavs in Uttar Pradesh have an almost deciding influence. Dinesh Lal Yadav, often known as “Nirahau,” of the BJP won Azamgarh in the June 2022 Lok Sabha by-elections, after the resignation of SP president Akhilesh Yadav.

A BJP official said that Mohanji was also quite involved in the state’s wrestling organizations, something that Akhilesh’s father and political heavyweight Mulayam Singh Yadav used to do.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the BJP’s Yadav focus for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections shortly after the party’s stunning comeback victory in the Uttar Pradesh elections. Chaudhary Harmohan Singh Yadav was a former MP and close ally of Mulayam Singh Yadav. In addition, Harmohan founded the Yadav Mahasabha; his grandson, Mohit Yadav, is now a member of the BJP.

The BJP also defeated Aparna Yadav, Mulayam’s daughter-in-law, in the 2022 UP assembly elections.