Will Rahul Gandhi's cancelled trip further delay Uttarakhand Congress reset?

For much of the past nine years, electricity has been one of the BJP’s strongest governance claims in Uttar Pradesh. From campaign speeches to advertisements, the Yogi Adityanath administration has repeatedly claimed improved power supply, expanded electrification and fewer outages compared to the previous Samajwadi Party dispensation.

The promise of reliable electricity became one of the BJP's most visible examples of what it described as improved governance after 2017. But now, less than a year from assembly elections, that very issue may be turning into a political headache for the ruling party.

A combination of prolonged power cuts this summer, rising electricity demand and the recent controversy surrounding smart prepaid meters has handed the Opposition an issue that cuts across caste, community and regional lines. Unlike many political debates that affect only specific sections of society, electricity shortages are felt equally in villages, towns and cities.

The discomfort for the BJP became evident when criticism emerged from not just the Opposition but also the party’s own ranks. Several BJP legislators publicly flagged complaints from their constituencies. MLA Rajeshwar Singh called for better grievance redressal mechanisms while MLA Dr Neeraj Bora raised concerns about unscheduled power cuts being faced by residents during the hottest period of the year. BJP MLA Ashok Kumar alleged that officials were not listening to even elected representatives and warned that arbitrary outages and aggressive checking drives were creating public resentment.

When ruling party legislators begin publicly complaining about an issue, it is seen as reflecting voter mood on the ground. Sensing an opportunity, the Opposition has quickly tried to turn the issue into a political narrative. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav launched a sharp attack on the government, claiming that public anger over electricity shortages had reached a point where BJP legislators too were forced to speak out.

“To escape the rising public outrage due to the unbearable ‘Maha Power Disaster’ in Uttar Pradesh, the terrified BJP MLAs and MPs are trying to shield themselves with a ‘paper armour’ in the form of sham letters. But those letters are not, in fact, any ‘public interest letter’ written to their own government. Rather, they are ‘application letters’ to the Opposition to secure tickets in the upcoming elections by jumping ship from the sinking BJP vessel,” Akhilesh claimed in a lengthy social media post.

The Adityanath government, however, insists that the situation is being exaggerated, and points to record levels of electricity supply despite unprecedented summer demand. Energy minister A.K. Sharma said Uttar Pradesh had made history by achieving a peak supply of 31,824 MW, the highest so far in the state and the country. “Our electricity workers are tirelessly and devotedly engaged day and night to resolve the localised disruptions arising from technical/natural or man-made causes,” Sharma noted on X.

The numbers do show the scale of the electricity challenge in the state. According to government data, peak electricity demand has crossed 30,000 MW this year while average daily consumption has risen sharply than last summer. Over the past decade, annual electricity consumption in Uttar Pradesh has more than doubled. Peak demand climbed from around 15,600 MW in 2013-14 to well over 31,000 MW now.

The government argues that the rising complaints are partly due to greater power consumption itself. More households own air conditioners, coolers and electrical appliances than ever before, placing enormous pressure on the grid during heatwaves.

To prepare for the summer, the state had earlier announced plans to ensure the availability of around 34,000 MW. New thermal power units at Ghatampur, Khurja, Panki, Obra and Jawaharpur were commissioned to strengthen supply. Officials also planned advance power purchase agreements and market purchases to bridge any shortfall.

With protests over long power cuts turning into a major political issue, Adityanath recently held a marathon review meeting with senior power department officials. He directed strict feeder-wise accountability and warned officials that negligence in transformer replacement, handling of complaints or power supply management would not be tolerated.

The urgency reflects the political stakes involved. The electricity issue has gotten linked with the recent controversy of the government’s retreat on prepaid smart meters. Earlier this month, after weeks of protests and mounting public pressure, the government announced that smart meters would function as postpaid connections instead of prepaid ones. The replacement of old meters with prepaid smart meters was also put on hold.

The decision marked a significant policy reversal because the government had initially defended the rollout and dismissed the criticism as politically motivated. However, allegations of inflated bills, unexplained deductions and sudden disconnections fuelled protests across several districts, eventually forcing a rethink.

Taken separately, smart meter protests and summer power cuts may appear like administrative challenges. Together, however, they have created a broader perception problem for the government. For the BJP, that is particularly significant because uninterrupted electricity has long been one of its strongest governance achievements in Uttar Pradesh. That is precisely why the Opposition is focusing on it so aggressively.

With elections in 2027, the battle is about whether the government's claims on power supply match people’s daily experiences. And in a summer marked by extreme heat, that could become a far more consequential political test than the government had anticipated.

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