Extreme heat has made Lakhnauwalas even more hot headed than ever. The public is outraged at multiple inconveniences that they are forced to suffer today like a poor supply of electricity. Demonstrations are held routinely outside different power sub-stations across the city.
According to chairman of the Uttar Pradesh electricity board Avadhesh Kumar Varma, the situation is out of control and protests by citizens are now routine.
The Lucknow Electricity Supply Authority (LESA) is flooded with complaints from thousands of citizens who are also suffering water shortage at a time when temperatures have shot up to 47 degrees Celsius. Power cuts can last from 30 minutes to 10 hours according to media reports, reducing the capital of UP to a hell hole.
The state’s power demand is highest in the country today, having surpassed that of Maharashtra. Engineers told the media that over 60 percent of the city’s transformers are overloaded and at risk of damage while the staff ignores all complaints over the phone.
The city’s power infrastructure is severely strained, with over 150 sub-stations and 32,000 transformers under severe stress that are not receiving full voltage. Power cuts have affected the livelihood of people who struggle to make ends meet.
The earning of a driver in Lucknow is meagre these days as he is unable to re-charge the battery of his e-rickshaw in the absence of a regular supply of electricity.
The government is disinterested in updating the disruptive power infrastructure in the state as it toys with the idea of privatising the power sector. That is the suspicion for the government’s tardiness in attending to the poor supply of electricity in the state.
Massive Power Outrage
The opposition is sure that the public will reject any attempt to make the power supply in the state more costly. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav termed the situation a ‘power outage’ affecting the elderly, the unwell, children and students alike.
Yadav wondered if citizens are deprived of electricity these days as revenge for not voting in the last general elections for the ruling party?
Senior SP leader Shivpal Yadav said that the public will not tolerate any exploitation and harassment in the form of ‘costly electricity’ and ‘disruptive power supply’ in a tweet.
Congress leaders in UP added that the ruling party had promised uninterrupted power supply in June but that is not true. There is no place in UP today that enjoys a 24 hour power supply.
On a good day, the cities may get a few hours of electricity while the rural areas get even fewer hours even at the peak of summer.
The People Are Angry
More public anger had spilled over on a street in Varanasi when an object was flung at the motorcade of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi last Tuesday. Was it a slipper, a shoe or a mobile phone, is still not clear.
The PM was in Varanasi for the first time after winning the seat in the last Lok Sabha elections that concluded earlier this month. The PM came to Varanasi to release Rs. 20,000 crore in the 17th instalment of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi to more than 9.26 crore farmers at the PM Kisan Samman Sammelan.
The PM has been elected from Varanasi for the third time but with a reduced margin. However, the PM expressed happiness at being elected anyways once again. He told Varanasi that he was grateful to the voters for their mandate.
“With the blessings of Baba Vishwanath and Maa Ganga, and the immense love of the people of Kashi, I have got the privilege of becoming the country’s ‘pradhan sevak’ for the third time. Now, it seems as if Maa Ganga has adopted me,” the PM said, before performing puja and participating in a Ganga aarti.
The following day the PM left UP to inaugurate Bihar’s Nalanda University campus in Rajgir on June 19.
All Is Well
Who says that all is not well between PM Modi and UP Chief Minister Adityanath? The UP CM had welcomed the PM warmly in Varanasi.
“We witnessed an unprecedented election, where respected Modi ji returned back to power. Under his leadership India’s power and capability on the global stage increased manifold. The leadership of Modi ji is accepted and hailed across the world,” the CM said, even as his own future has been uncertain ever since the ruling party lost almost over a dozen seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
That the PM wants to down-size the power enjoyed by the CM in UP is a real possibility believed by political analysts, and voters discussing politics of the day at crowded tea corners alike.
From 62 seats won in the 2019 elections this year the popularity of the ruling party has dipped to 36 seats. The whispers in the corridors of power in Lucknow are abuzz that the CM will have to bear the brunt of the defeat of the ruling party in UP.
Some others close to the corridors of power insist that the powerful in Delhi believe that the CM should have done more to make sure that the ruling party did not lose Lok Sabha seats. The loss of the Faizabad constituency, which includes Ayodhya, remains a huge political embarrassment for the ruling party that has built a brand new temple in memory of the birth of Lord Rama.
However, the poor performance of the ruling party in UP shows that the CM may not be as popular all over the state as it had seemed before the polls. The image of the CM is that of a strong, devout man who has no stomach for love and friendships.
It had seemed so far that his stonelike leadership was the key to his popularity and that he was being considered as a national leader as well.
What Matters More to Voters
The result of the last polls show that voters expect better job opportunities from the political leadership. The anger of the unemployed over paper leaks and over the disinterest of the ruling party to provide gainful employment continues to simmer in UP.
Both in cities and in rural areas the common complaint of citizens is against unaffordable prices of essential commodities and the menace of stray cattle in the countryside that affects the produce of agriculturists.
The issues closest to the heart of voters in UP remain safety, security and a life of dignity. They have voted in favour of more freedom to find jobs of their choice.
The voters want to enjoy the security of being able to wear, buy and eat whatever they want and to be able to love to their heart’s content without fear of those in power breathing down their neck. Too much to ask?