Lakhimpur violence row: Does focus on Priyanka, Rahul draw away attention from BJP’s chief rival in UP—Akhilesh?

New Delhi, Oct 06
Has the political slugfest with the Congress following the Lakhimpur Kheri incident helped the ruling BJP shift focus from Adityanath government’s chief rival in Uttar Pradesh—the Samajwadi Party?
A section of Samajwadi supporters believes that Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are being given “undue attention by the UP government” to divert attention from the “BJP’s real rival” in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh—Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav.
While Yadav’s detractors scoff at the observation, pointing to his “missing in action” status and “complacent attitude so far to the political happenings around him”, his supporters call the “build-up around Priyanka and Rahul” a “deliberate attempt by the BJP”.
“Otherwise, how is it possible that Priyanka Gandhi was arrested/detained for days for trying to reach Lakhimpur Kheri whereas Akhilesh Yadav, who too could have been given the same treatment, was simply let off? Everyone knows that Akhilesh has a larger cadre base than Congress. In politics, building a weak contender who is otherwise a lesser threat is also a way to counter a strong rival,” claims a political analyst associated with the Samajwadi Party.
Though many also believe that Yadav himself is responsible “by not reacting to the situation in a politically appropriate manner,” propagators of the theory question wonder if that were true, how was a delegation of the Trinamool Congress able to meet families of farmers killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence despite prohibitory orders.
Claiming they dodged Uttar Pradesh police by posing as tourists, TMC leaders met the families of the victims—the only opposition delegation that managed to travel all the way to the violence-hit area amid prohibitory orders.
Meanwhile, all eyes are on Yadav’s ‘Samajwadi Vijay Yatra’, which supporters believe has proved to be “lucky for the party” in the past as well.