The BJP has appointed Union home minister Amit Shah as the observer for Uttar Pradesh ahead of the selection of a new chief minister.
The lightweight assignment — this is probably the first time that a senior leader is being given such a job — has intrigued many in the party, especially since the anointment of Yogi Adityanath as chief minister for a second term is being seen as a formality.
Some view the appointment as an attempt to underscore the importance of the second-most powerful leader of the current regime, against the backdrop of the rising stature of Adityanath after the spectacular victory in the Assembly elections.
In an apparent balancing act, another senior leader, defence minister Rajnath Singh, has been appointed observer for Uttarakhand, where the party has the job of picking a chief minister after the incumbent, Pushkar Singh Dhami, lost the election.
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been assigned a similar job for Manipur and agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar for Goa.
BJP leaders defended the choice of Shah for the Uttar Pradesh assignment. They argued that although the post of chief minister had been settled, the party faced the difficult task of picking the deputy chief ministers, particularly in the light of Keshav Prasad Maurya (one of the two deputy chief ministers in the outgoing government) failing to win his seat.
“Since Amitbhai has handled the state in the past and was the main strategist for this election too, he has been appointed to manage the tricky issue,” a party leader said.
He added: “The leadership could also decide not to have any deputy chief ministers this time.”
Maurya, main OBC face of the state BJP, lost the polls from Sirathu. The other deputy chief minister was Dinesh Sharma, a Brahmin.
The appointments of the observers were announced on a day Adityanath was in Delhi, meeting leaders of the party and basking in the glory of victory.
Adityanath had arrived in Delhi on Sunday. After calling on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he met Shah. A picture shows the home minister offering sweets to Yogi.
In the wider Sangh parivar, Adityanath’s record second term is being viewed with interest. It is widely believed that Adityanath has now emerged as the second most popular leader of the BJP after Modi, spreading unease in sections of the party that regard Shah as the natural successor at the top.
Many in the party feel that by appointing Shah as observer for Uttar Pradesh, the leadership wants to underline the home minister’s importance and signal that he remains the point man for Modi relating to political affairs in the heartland state.
The names of the chief ministers and deputy chief ministers will be decided at a meeting of the parliamentary party, the highest decision-making body of the BJP, that Modi will chair on Tuesday.
