Keeping up with UP: Maha Kumbh helps Adityanath strengthen position

The 45-day Maha Kumbh that concluded last week in Prayagraj was mostly about chief minister Yogi Adityanath unlike the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath corridor, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi took centre stage. Adityanath strengthened his position as a household name beyond Uttar Pradesh (UP) which many of his contemporaries in the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) have been unable to achieve.

He turned the tables on the opposition which blamed his administration for mismanagement. Adityanath cleaned the ghats, ate with sanitary staff, and rewarded police for their work during the Maha Kumbh, which the state government said attracted 660 million pilgrims. He faced criticism after a pre-dawn stampede on the holiest day of the Maha Kumbh left at least 30 people and 60 injured on January 29. Bystanders were trampled when surging crowds burst out of barricades to rush towards a narrow strip of the riverbank.

The stampede could have been dealt with compassion. There were though no other major issues, helping Adityanath consolidate his position and silence his detractors anticipating his removal or transfer to Delhi after the Maha Kumbh. BJP’s ideological fount Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the party leadership would ultimately take a call on this but it will now be increasingly difficult.

RSS leader Dattatreya Hosabale was among those who made it to the Maha Kumbh. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat missed it. Samajwadi Party leader and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who suggested creating permanent infrastructure in Prayagraj for the Kumbh Mela, Parliament member Dimple Yadav, and other leaders of their party took a dip at the confluence or Sangam of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers. Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra stayed away. State Congress chief Ajay Rai represented the party at the Kumbh.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, and former Union minister Lalu Prasad Yadav’s comments about Kumbh ignoring the enthusiasm for the event were hyped via social media campaigns to the BJP’s advantage.

There was also much criticism about the VIP culture. Narain Dutt Tiwari, the three-time Congress chief minister in the 1970s and 1980s, banned the VIP movement during the Kumbh Mela. The use of choppers, a big distraction, was also banned. VIPs visited as ordinary pilgrims.

The Adityanath government invited the VIPs for the holy dip. Some people demanded fixed days or hours for the VIPs. Others felt the VIPs should be dissuaded from visiting Kumbh Mala on days when large crowds were expected besides flying back after the dip instead of visiting saints and temples.

Former state chief secretary Alok Ranjan, who was the Allahabad (Prayagraj) municipal commissioner in 1989 when the Maha Kumbh was organised, said there should be a regular flow of funds for the city’s development. He added it would help boost the infrastructure and development and expansion of roads to avoid traffic jams.

Sanjay Kala, a Prayagraj resident, said three bridges at Jhunsi, Phaphamau, and Naini were unable to accommodate the traffic on regular days. He said more road bridges should be built upstream on both rivers in Prayagraj. Kala said a bridge can be built over Yamuna near the airport connecting the opposite river bank leading to Naini. Those arriving at the airport have to meander through the congested city roads. There have been calls for more buses to ferry pilgrims and a metro rail project too.

Nitin Gokaran, a former district magistrate and commissioner of Varanasi who was posted in Prayagraj during the Purna Kumbh Mela, said the crowd management plans should be rehearsed several times with optional plans for a surge.

There have been suggestions for having holding areas to manage the crowds in neighbouring districts as well. As a large number of people were expected to turn up on the auspicious days, there was no need for advertising to induce religious fervour. This is true for all religious functions. The crowds have earlier been restricted in Ayodhya and Kashi during ceremonies, which could have been replicated.