Year-Ender: 2022 saw BJP’s poll juggernaut, Yogi’s bulldozer on roll to Akhilesh, Shivpal bond again in UP

India

oi-PTI

Lucknow,
Dec
29:
Beginning
the
year
with
a
big
win
in
the
assembly
polls,
the
BJP
also
breached
the
Samajwadi
Party
citadels
in
Azamgarh
and
Rampur
–
building
momentum
for
2024
General
Election.
The
party
conquered
Samajwadi
Party
leader
Azam
Khan’s
bastion
in
Rampur,
winning
the
bye-elections
for
the
Lok
Sabha
seat
and
the
Rampur
Sadar
assembly
constituency,
which
had
elected
Khan
10
times
in
a
row.
But
its
winning
streak
broke
with
bypoll
defeats
in
Mainpuri
Lok
Sabha
constituency
—
which
had
fallen
vacant
after
the
death
of
SP
founder
Mulayam
Singh
Yadav
–
and
the
Khatauli
assembly
segment
it
had
won
in
the
2017
and
the
2022
state
elections.

The
year
saw
controversies
over
the
use
of
bulldozers
to
demolish
properties
of
alleged
gangsters,
and
a
revival
of
sorts
of
temple-mosque
disputes
in
Varanasi
and
Mathura.

Dashing
the
hopes
of
a
resurgent
SP
led
by
Akhilesh
Yadav,
the
BJP
registered
a
comfortable
victory
in
the
February-March
assembly
election,
paving
the
way
for
the
return
of
Yogi
Adityanath
as
chief
minister
for
a
second
consecutive
term
–
a
rare,
first-in-decades
feat
in
Uttar
Pradesh
politics.

2022
a
remarkable
and
historic
year
for
India-US
relations

The
state
polls
on
which
the
nation’s
attention
was
hooked
saw
an
improved
performance
by
the
SP
which
got
111
seats
out
of
403,
against
47
five
years
ago.
But
the
Congress
(two
seats)
and
the
Bahujan
Samaj
Party
(one
seat)
were
decimated.

Later,
the
BJP
won
Azamgarh
and
Rampur
Lok
Sabha
seats,
where
bypolls
were
held
after
Akhilesh
Yadav
and
Azam
Khan
vacated
them
on
becoming
MLAs.
The
BJP
also
wrested
the
Muslim-dominated
Rampur
Sadar
assembly
seat,
which
had
been
Khan’s
pocket
borough
for
nearly
45
years.
BJP’s
Akash
Saxena
defeated
Khan’s
pick
Asim
Raja.

The
bypoll
was
held
there
following
Khan’s
disqualification
from
the
assembly,
after
the
district
court
sent
him
to
prison
for
three
years
in
a
hate
speech
case.

Another
conviction
led
to
two-term
BJP
MLA
Vikram
Singh
Saini
being
disqualified
from
Khatauli
in
Muzaffarnagar.
The
Rashtriya
Lok
Dal
won
the
bypoll
there,
defeating
Saini’s
wife
fielded
by
the
BJP.

Urban
local
body
polls
are
next.
Earlier
this
week,
the
Allahabad
High
Court
scrapped
an
election
notification
by
the
UP
government
for
not
following
the
Supreme
Court
guidelines
while
reserving
seats
for
the
Other
Backward
Classes
in
these
polls.
As
the
opposition
targets
the
BJP
over
the
“anti-OBC”
development,
Adityanath
has
said
the
municipal
polls
will
be
held
only
with
the
OBC
reservation.
A
day
after
the
legal
setback,
his
government
has
appointed
a
commission
to
set
things
right.

From
attack
on
collegium
system
to
record
appointments
in
HCs,
here
are
the
top
developments
in
2022

The
“chacha-bhatija”
drama
continued
to
play
on
the
sidelines.
Nudged
by
Mulayam
Singh
Yadav,
his
son
Akhilesh
Yadav
and
brother
Shivpal
Singh
Yadav
came
together
before
the
assembly
elections,
only
to
separate
again
after
the
results
were
out
and
the
senior
Yadav
appeared
to
be
drifting
towards
the
ruling
BJP.

Mulayam
Singh
Yadav’s
death
on
October
10,
however,
again
brought
the
uncle
and
the
nephew
together,
the
fourth
time
in
six
years.
Shivpal
Singh
Yadav
even
campaigned
for
Akhilesh
Yadav’s
wife
Dimple
in
Mainpuri
to
protect
Mulayam’s
“legacy”.

During
the
campaign,
Akhilesh
Yadav
touched
his
uncle’s
feet.

Adityanath’s
second
term
saw
bulldozers
demolishing
properties
of
alleged
criminals
and
people
involved
in
riots,
earning
the
CM
the
sobriquet
of
“Baba
Bulldozer”.
Those
on
the
receiving
end
included
“politician-criminals”
Mukhtar
Ansari
and
Atiq
Ahmed.

The
opposition
accused
the
BJP
government
of
mainly
targeting
Muslims.
But
the
government
said
the
properties
were
built
illegally,
and
each
time
the
process
of
law
was
followed
in
razing
them.

The
Adityanath
government
got
loudspeakers
dialled
down
or
removed
from
mosques
and
establishments
of
other
faiths.
Officials
also
acted
rapidly
in
cases
of
the
namaz
being
offered
on
roads
and
other
public
places.

The
Ram
temple
construction
in
Ayodhya
gained
pace,
and
the
Shri
Ram
Janmabhoomi
Teerth
Kshetra
trust
said
devotees
will
be
able
to
offer
prayers
there
in
January
2024.
But
the
construction
of
a
new
mosque
in
Ayodhya
on
a
five-acre
site
is
yet
to
start,
with
the
Indo-Islamic
Foundation
waiting
for
clearance
of
building
plans
by
the
Ayodhya
Development
Authority.
The
2019
Supreme
Court
judgment
on
the
Ayodhya
dispute
had
paved
the
way
for
the
construction
of
the
Ram
temple
at
the
site
where
the
Babri
mosque
was
demolished
in
1992.
The
court
had
also
ordered
allocation
of
land
for
building
a
new
mosque.

2022
was
year
of
drone
menace
with
311
sightings

The
simmering
Gyanvapi
mosque-Kashi
Vishwanath
temple
dispute
came
into
focus
again
this
year
with
a
Varanasi
court
allowing
a
videography
survey
of
the
mosque,
located
next
to
the
temple.
The
district
court
is
hearing
a
plea
by
a
group
of
women
seeking
permission
for
daily
prayers
before
idols
on
a
mosque
wall.
The
Allahabad
High
Court
is
also
in
the
picture.
And
cases
related
to
Krishna
Janmabhoomi-Idgah
mosque
dispute
are
being
heard
in
Mathura
courts
as
well
as
the
high
court.

The
UP
government
ordered
surveys
of
private
madrasas
state-wide,
triggering
a
row
briefly.
It
said
it
planned
to
ensure
that
subjects
like
Science
and
computer
literacy
are
also
taught
there.Apart
from
the
Deepotsav
on
the
banks
of
river
Saryu
in
Ayodhya,
where
lakhs
of
earthen
lamps
are
lit
ahead
of
Diwali,
the
state
this
year
also
hosted
a
month-long
Kashi-Tamil
Sangamam
showcasing
the
cultural
bond
between
Tamil
Nadu
and
the
pilgrim
town.

A
fire
at
Levana
Suites
hotel
in
Lucknow
left
four
people
dead
and
at
least
10
injured,
highlighting
negligence
towards
fire
safety
norms.
As
2022
neared
its
end,
the
state
government
sent
its
ministers
abroad
to
invite
investors
to
a
global
summit
in
February.