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Debating the Power and Plight of Uttar Pradesh
From Lucknow to Lutyens: The Power and Plight of Uttar Pradesh by Abhigyan Prakash, Gurugram: HarperCollins Publishers, 2022; pp xxxii + 239, `599.
The book under review is a journalistic account rooted in experiential reality trying to solve a puzzle: “Why does India’s most politically powerful state, Uttar Pradesh (UP), remain so underdeveloped?” (p xiv). This state is considered as India’s most politically powerful state because it sends the highest number of members of Parliament (MPs) (80 in the Lok Sabha and 31 in the Rajya Sabha). It is also the most populated state, which makes the voting value of its members of legislative assembly (MLAs) the highest in the presidential election.
UP has also given the highest number of prime ministers to the country, including the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had chosen to represent the parliamentary constituency of Varanasi despite being from Gujarat. Previously, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had also chosen the Lucknow constituency despite hailing from Madhya Pradesh. This phenomenon pushes the author to ask another question: Does political leadership bring development for the state?
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