Will bungalow controversy haunt Akhilesh Yadav in 2019 general elections?
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who played a crucial role in snatching four important constituencies from the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, is now facing criticism over the controversy surrounding the bungalow he occupied till some time back.
The former chief minister's masterstroke of joining hands with his arch-rival Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and other Opposition parties has left BJP worried ahead of the Lok Sabha polls coming up in 2019, but are allegations of leaving the government bungalow in shambles going to hurt Yadav politically?
Since the bungalow, spread over 40,000sqft and occupied by Yadav, was thrown open to media after the former chief minister vacated it, the BJP leaders have launched an aggressive campaign against him on social media. BJP leaders are constantly posting stills and videos of dismantled portions of the huge property Yadav vacated on Vikramaditya Marg.
जनता के पैसे का दुरुपयोग करना सपा की पहचान pic.twitter.com/1R1ev6Umwh
— BJP Uttar Pradesh (@BJP4UP) June 16, 2018
After the keys of the bungalow were handed over to the state property department, it was found with a mess. The floor, walls, electrical and bathroom fittings were found ravaged. Air conditioners, ceilings and garden lights were also missing. The badminton court and gym area was found dug up. BJP accused Yadav of damaging the property and demanded action against him.
Top sources in the BJP say that this controversy is not going to die down anytime soon. The bungalow row will be used primarily to target the SP chief till the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Saffron party leaders feel that this issue has dented Yadav's image and will continue to hurt him politically in the future too. The state unit of the BJP has posted a video on the official Twitter handle slamming Akhilesh over the bungalow row.
UP governor Ram Naik also wrote to chief minister Yogi Adityanath seeking action against the former UP CM calling allegations against him serious.
Yadav, meanwhile, has accused the UP government of damaging the bungalow he vacated to dent his image. He also denied reports of having a swimming pool in the bungalow and taking away the fittings.
"I only took from the bungalow whatever was purchased from my own pocket. The allegation of spending public money worth crores in renovation is wrong. Two officers of the state government were roped in to conspire against me because BJP leaders are miffed after a series of drubbings in by-polls," Yadav told the media.
Yadav also blamed the media for spreading false information about his bungalow without any evidence and dared the state property department to come out with a detailed report of the bungalow inventory.
Whether the bungalow was damaged following Yadav's orders or he is merely a victim of conspiracy is yet to be known. The state property department is already conducting a probe to examine the extent of the damage cause.
If the state property department finds Yadav guilty of damaging the bungalow then it is going to be a huge setback for the former CM who has vowed to outflank BJP in Uttar Pradesh to avenge the 2017 Assembly elections rout.
Interestingly, immediately after the bungalow controversy erupted, the former CM said that he is ready to give two-four more seats to BSP to form an alliance with Mayawati for general elections.
A party leader on the condition of anonymity said that the bungalow row has come as a jolt to the former CM and he really believes that stopping the BJP without the support of Mayawati will not be possible.
However, SP spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi said, "BJP's dirty tricks department can go to any extent to malign the image of its opponents. It was a propaganda and vilification campaign led by the UP government and BJP. The involvement of officers from CM office in this vilification campaign speaks volumes of the conspiracy hatched at higher level to tarnish the image of Opposition leaders."
UP BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said that Akhilesh wasted public money for his own luxuries.
"Our agenda of campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls will only be development. Akhilesh Yadav has been exposed in front of the public. The bungalow issue will also be raised prominently by us and now no tactics of the former CM are going to work," said Tripathi.
It is very clear that the BJP will be using the bungalow issue against Yadav in 2019. However, we will have to see whether this issue like Muzaffarnagar riots and the family feud is going to hurt the former CM or will he be able to repeat the by-polls success with support of other Opposition parties, including Mayawati's BSP.