Yogi's Bureaucratic Blindspot: Why Consolidating Allies Is Easier Than Reining In Administration

In Uttar Pradesh (UP) of late, the criticisms of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) allies have turned into words of appreciation for Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath.

For the past few months, BJP allies seemed jittery, often voicing concerns against the Yogi government. However, this was more of a survival tactic than a genuine criticism of the government.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, it was not just the BJP that faced losses, but its allies, each catering to a specific caste group, also saw a decline in their support base, making them unable to help the BJP much.

While the BJP, as a national party, continued to observe coalition dharma by avoiding direct confrontations with its allies, several other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners in UP lacked the same restraint.

The latest attack came from Sanjay Nishad, the chief of the NISHAD party, in late August, where he publicly threatened to end the alliance with the BJP, accusing it of marginalising his community.

However, a few days later, he was seen sharing the stage with CM Yogi and praising the NDA governments in UP and the Centre. Similar is the story of other NDA parties.

How Yogi Consolidated NDA Parties

Sanjay Nishad had expressed dissatisfaction over the alleged promotion of rival Nishad leaders by the BJP and the alleged neglect of his concerns and the undermining of his influence by the bureaucracy.

However, after CM Yogi announced a slew of measures for various communities during the event to mark Denotified and Nomadic Tribes Day, Nishad praised Yogi for his efforts for these communities.

Notably, Mallahs, who form the core vote base of the NISHAD party, are also one of the communities that were denotified in 1961. Thus, with the recent event, Nishad got political mileage to position himself before his community.

Sanjay Nishad's other political concerns might have been addressed in closed-door meetings with Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak and then with Yogi himself, where the Mallah leader met the CM along with his elder son, Dr Amit Kumar Nishad.

Similarly, the Apna Dal (Soneylal) chief, Anupriya Patel, was reconciled with the NDA fold with CM Yogi announcing a corporation for outsourced government employees, which would safeguard their rights.

Patel has long been questioning the irregularities in the implementation of reservation provisions in the appointment of outsourced employees and even wrote an open letter to CM Yogi last year demanding the same.

The corporation will ensure reservation benefits are disbursed according to constitutional provisions, which Patel hailed as a victory for her party, claiming her demands had been fulfilled.

However, after the fulfilment of this demand, Patel has raised another demand of a separate welfare ministry for Other Backward Classes (OBC) at the Centre and increasing the creamy layer income limit for OBCs from Rs 8 lakh to Rs 15 lakh.

Similarly, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar has been demanding sub-quotas within OBCs and Scheduled Caste (SC) communities, so that reservation benefits could reach 'extremely backward' and 'most backward' communities.

Another ally, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), has also been voicing concerns against the Yogi government, like the state’s directive requiring nameplates for dhabas and eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route, the police’s warning against public prayer on Eid and fertiliser shortage, which caters to its vote bank.

For smaller parties, making periodic demands on the BJP has become essential to demonstrate their political relevance to core supporters. Such tactical positioning will likely continue through the 2027 election cycle.

However, Yogi's recent success in keeping the NISHAD party and Apna Dal (S) in the fold happily demonstrates his ability to consolidate NDA allies when it matters. A more complex challenge however lies in managing the very bureaucracy these allies often complain about.

The Weakening Control?

Political commentators in UP often raise concerns about Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s allegedly weakening grip on the state’s administration, as officials’ actions increasingly diverge from the ruling party’s vision.

The latest instance was seen in Barabanki, where members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Sangh Parivar, of which BJP is also a part, were beaten badly by the UP Police.

The ABVP members were protesting against Ram Swaroop University for continuing to admit students into its LLB course, despite losing recognition for the course. The police lathi-charged the protesting students.

Consequently, at least 25 ABVP workers were reportedly seriously injured and admitted to the hospital for treatment. Questions were raised that when ABVP workers were being treated like this under the BJP rule, what would happen to commoners?

Although CM Yogi took note of the situation and appointed the Inspector General (IG) of Ayodhya Range to probe the matter, the damage has been done as the incident weakened students' trust in the state government.

As the action followed, Circle Officer (CO) Harshit Chauhan was removed from his post, while Station House Officer (SHO) R K Rana, post-in-charge Gajendra Vikram Singh and three constables were attached to the Police Lines.

However, this is not an isolated incident of police action damaging the state government's image. Similar scenes were seen during the students' protest against the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) in November last year, where the police tried to manhandle protesting students. However, the matter was settled peacefully.

Across all government departments, not just police, reports and feedback point to corruption, poor field-level accountability, neglect of local representatives' concerns, and indifferent handling of public problems. All of which damages CM Yogi Adityanath's reputation.

As political commentator Vikas Saraswat said, "This high-handedness is not limited to the police department alone but is prevalent in every department of Uttar Pradesh. Crime may be low, but governmental bullying is at its peak."

What's Going On?

Shiv Sagar from Fatehpur told Swarajya, "Everything is going bhagwan bharose (god's will). No officer wants to work and this tendency has increased in the second term."

He cited delayed responses from the Power Department on transformer repairs and prolonged waits for income and residence certificates from the concerned offices to substantiate his claims.

While the law-and-order situation has improved in the state, a few residents shared its diminishing effect due to alleged corruption in the police department, which reportedly maintains unofficial understandings with criminal elements.

"In the last year, I have witnessed a spike in crimes, especially in my own police station area. Thefts, murders and hooliganism have become common. However, the SHO transfer has improved the situation," Shiv Sagar added.

A Farrukhabad resident alleged that every government department is mired in irregularities and all officers are busy making money. While corruption is a major issue across all departments, UP residents hold more grievances against the power and revenue departments.

A Prayagraj resident shared on condition of anonymity, "A junior engineer of the electricity department was asking a bribe of Rs 50,000 from me for a genuine work." He also alleged widespread corruption in the Jal Jeewan mission.

The corruption among Lekhpals is also a common complaint in UP. "You cannot get your land measured for free by any Lekhpal," Avinash Tiwari from Lucknow told Swarajya.

He expressed relief that caste and domicile certificates can now be obtained online; otherwise, people had to face corruption in these processes as well.

Residents of Bulandshahr, Fatehpur, Prayagraj, Ghaziabad, and Sitapur said corruption among Lekhpals has always existed, but it is now getting more attention in the age of social media.

What's Getting Worse

The above remarks show that UP residents are not new to dealing with graft in state administration, but what is disappointing them is the absence of a grievance redressal mechanism through local representatives.

Although the grievance redressal portals exist, people always find it convenient to approach their local leaders to get their work done, rather than following a formal, bureaucratic approach to get resolutions.

However, with the declining influence of politicians on the bureaucratic system, this option is becoming increasingly ineffective. Even leaders themselves complain about not getting heard by officers.

Sharing his experience, the Prayagraj resident said, "I got a letter from the Minister to get my genuine work done, still that did not have any effect."

"What's the use of such leaders then?" he questioned, comparing with the Samajwadi Party (SP) rule, when even a junior SP leader supposedly used to wield such influence that he could get people's work done.

However, a BJP worker from Sitapur, Prateek Pandey, blamed the party leaders themselves for their declining influence. "They are not getting heard because they lack integrity. They all will face ticket cuts in the upcoming election," he told Swarajya.

Nonetheless, he admitted that BJP workers feel neglected by senior government officials, creating the perception that CM Yogi is losing his grip over the administration.

Ironically, this bureaucratic independence stems from CM Yogi's own directive to officials to resist political pressure in administrative matters. What was intended to improve governance is now undermining his political capital.

Extending this line of thought, political commentator Amit Yadav told Swarajya, "Government babus do not differentiate whether someone is a BJP voter or not; they likewise ignore everyone. But people start holding grudges against the government, not the bureaucracy."

The Losing Connection?

Apart from a supposedly non-responsive bureaucracy, there is a prevalent perception in UP that CM Yogi has confined himself to his own echo chamber, making it difficult for him to understand the ground-level realities.

This was apparent when people across the state were complaining about long and frequent power outages, but CM Yogi claimed sufficient availability of electricity and an uninterrupted power supply.

Similarly, when the police lathi-charged ABVP students in Barabanki, political commentators like Amit Yadav and Vikas Saraswat urged the CM to get out of his echo chamber and see what the public faces. They expressed that even staunch supporters are disappointed with the functioning of the government.

The youth disappointment with the Yogi government also does not seem to be reaching the CM, as despite strict action against paper leaks, recurring delays in the conduct of recruitment exams, irregularities at centres and far-off exam centres, as in the case of UPSSSC, continue to bother aspirants.

Yogi's statements after the Prayagraj Maha Kumbh, where he spoke about a boatman family earning Rs 30 crore and students earning by offering bike ride services to incoming pilgrims, also showed his slipping connection with the ground reality.

This is because the boatman that Yogi referred to was a history-sheeter and praises for him were seen as the glorification of a criminal. Similarly, the glorification of students' earnings through bike rides was seen as undermining their focus on studies.

Another issue is that the strict actions of Yogi, which helped to build his image, like quick encounters and bulldozer justice, are losing steam among the public, as they failed to bring structural changes to the system.

The people now expect visible solutions to the issues of unemployment and corruption, better infrastructure, including roads and electricity, better education and health infrastructure, ease of doing business and improved quality of life.

What Yogi Can Do

Yogi Adityanath has shown his political prowess from time to time. After getting elected as a member of Parliament (MP) from Gorakhpur five times consecutively, he entered the state legislature as the CM in 2017.

Then in 2022, he became the first UP CM in 37 years to return to power after completing a full five-year term. Despite the setbacks faced by the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Yogi has demonstrated his ability to bounce back.

First of all, he won back Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, who had been showing signs of rebellion after the 2024 losses. Then, he managed to pull off NDA's victories in seven of nine Assembly seats in the November 2024 bypolls.

The recent consolidations with Sanjay Nishad and Anupriya Patel have shown that he is also capable of managing BJP allies well. The next challenge for him will be to rein in the administration.

He has already shown his administrative prowess with the infrastructure push, law and order improvements, attracting investments to the state, development of religious tourism and the penetration of welfare schemes.

A system of checks and balances is now needed to make the bureaucracy more accountable. Instead of restricting political interference in administrative works, he can instead use political pressure as leverage to make the administration more effective.

The anti-corruption measures are already ongoing. They can be made more effective with a better grievance redressal system, which can be possible if the CM makes himself more open to public complaints.

Thus, with timely course correction, Yogi can dodge the building anti-incumbency due to unresponsive administration and create history by returning to power for the third consecutive time in UP.