'Do Ladke' derail 'Double Engine'

The 'Do Ladke' Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav derailed the much vaunted double-engine drive of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh, thus marking a significant shift in the political landscape of India's most populous state.

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The BJP faced significant setbacks, while the SP bagged a substantial number of seats, making it the party's most successful performance in its electoral history.

The strategy of the SP-Congress alliance to consolidate the Dalit, Other Backward Class (OBC) and Muslim votes effectively countered the BJP's Hindutva-driven campaign in Uttar Pradesh. Prime Minister Modi had overseen the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, a move that was said to be aimed at tightening the BJP's hold on the Hindu vote, cutting across backward classes and even Scheduled Castes and Tribes.

The opposition seemed fragmented, and the "double engine" narrative of Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, referring to BJP governments at both the Centre and the state, dominated the political landscape.