BJP's Course Correction In UP: Yogi Adityanath's Jobs Push With 2024 Bypolls, 2027 Election In Mind

Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP), is taking corrective measures to deal with unemployment in the state. It is an issue that is thought to have cost the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

The party won 33 of the 80 seats in the state assembly, down from 62 in 2019. The BJP's main rival, the Samajwadi Party (SP), outperformed it by winning 37 seats and helping its ally, the Congress, win six seats.

A post-election analysis found that unemployment was one of the major factors behind the youth voting for the SP. The party's national president, Akhilesh Yadav, often raised the issue of paper leaks in the state.

Notably, before the Lok Sabha election, the recruitment exam for UP police constables was cancelled in February due to a paper leak, which is believed to have stirred a negative sentiment towards the BJP.

At the time, Adityanath promised to conduct a re-exam within six months and harsh action against the perpetrators. The mastermind and other accused were arrested, and the re-exam commenced today (23 August).

With this five-day exam process between 23 August and 31 August, UP police aim to recruit 60,244 individuals as constables. This recruitment is a part of Adityanath's bigger plan.

In a rozgar mela (employment fair) organised in the Meerapur assembly constituency of Muzaffarnagar district yesterday, Adityanath promised 2 lakh government jobs in the next two years.

Warning those trying to create trouble in the recruitment process, he said, "The UP government has kept jails open for them. Their property will be seized and distributed among the poor."

Adityanath held similar rozgar melas in Katehari of Ambedkar Nagar district and Milkipur of Ayodhya district last week. Notably, all these assembly seats will have bypolls soon.

Therefore, while the promise of 2 lakh government jobs is in preparation for the 2027 UP assembly election, it is also intended to woo voters in the bypolls, which will be held for 10 state assembly seats.

Adityanath also distributed over 18,000 tablets and smartphones and gave away appointment letters to over 17,000 youth in the constituencies he visited.

In addition to jobs, Adityanath is promoting self-employment. He distributed loans exceeding Rs 30 crore to selected beneficiaries and micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) entrepreneurs yesterday.

The event, attended by over 50 prominent companies, represents a crucial effort to tackle unemployment in the western UP region, where the BJP hasn't been as strong.

The Chief Minister also laid the foundation for a stadium, set to be built in Meerapur constituency. He will continue to hold rozgar melas every three months across the state.