Victory or defeat, for the secular voter in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections it is Samajwadi Party chief, Akhilesh Yadav who stands out as the undisputed winner.
This young politician overcame all personal shortfalls, exhibited enviable grit and goaded passion as he worked single-handedly on an ‘inclusive poll strategy’ that won him both hearts and faith. Giving his 100 percent, Akhilesh became a beacon of hope and goodwill, especially for the oppressed minority, OBCs, and most importantly for all the secular voters in the state who have been seething with rage at the politics of hatred and communal divide unleashed in Yogi Adityanath’s five-year dictatorial regime.
Exit poll results appeared blatantly against SP-Alliance. However, the unfavorable survey results did not appear to affect his popularity, in fact, it appears to have grown more. There is constant talk on the digital platforms that the March 10th results will show magical numbers and that he will appear victorious.
For the over 24 crore UPites, Monday evening’s exit polls triggered emotions of disbelief, disappointment, anger, and undiluted concern. In the BJP camp, there was unfettered rejoicing. The polls showed a landslide victory for the BJP in the Uttar Pradesh state assembly polls. Akhilesh Yadav”s SP –Alliance was on the other hand shown as lagging far behind making the saffron party supporters announce gleefully “Abki baar phir Yogi sarkar’ (this time too it is Yogi government)
How people reacted to exit polls
“First of all, I cannot really believe these exit polls are based on true surveys. It seems Godi media’s way of justifying the crores given to them by the BJP for publicity,” is how Naseem, a school teacher from Varanasi reacted to the surveys. He explained this as the channels’ way of showing their gratitude for crores they have allegedly taken from the BJP bosses for media publicity.
A digital media expert, Anil added that a lot of considerations like the stock and share market must have been taken into account before these surveys were made public.
“Yaha chamatkar bhi hotey hain aur March 10, ko aisa hi chamatkar hoga,” said Pawan, who voted Samajwadi Party and was disappointed by the exit polls
“Hats off to Akhilesh’s for his untiring efforts to wipe off the communal hatred sowed deep by the BJP in the five-year tenure in UP”, said Pawan. He was of the view that Akhilesh countered Yogi’s uncouth language, personal allegations wisely and with dignity and grace. He said anyone in Akhilesh’s place would have reacted but he kept his cool. This won him a lot of appreciation and got him votes too.
But for now, silence is the best way of reacting and Akhilesh has already done this by instructing his spokespersons’ team to stay off media bites and interviews.
As everyone in the state and outside waits anxiously for the EVMs to open, there are words of caution from SP supporters and their Alliance partners to be extra careful both before and when counting starts as there are speculations of the BJP allegedly playing foul.
| Posted by Sameer Khan | 
