UP Election 2022: Chunaav Pe Charcha | EJ In-depth: UP's focus on its cows

In elections, every vote counts. Well, cows can't vote, but they certainly can win some. Or at least, Yogi government believes so.

It’s not really news that the Uttar Pradesh government has a soft spot for the bovine community. And it certainly isn’t a COW-incidence that enormous measures have been undertaken by the current UP government to ensure the welfare of this beloved species. Here’s a look at all that has happened for cows and cattle in the last 5 years of the Yogi raj.

In 2018, the state allocated Rs 233 crore for the welfare of cow and dairy development and set aside a Rs 20 million fund for setting up cow shelters in 12 district jails across the state. In 2019, it further allocated Rs 600 crore towards cow welfare and imposed an additional cess on wine and beer in the state, additional revenue from which would go towards upliftment of cattle. In the 2021 supplementary budget ₹ 300 crore has been provided for maintenance of animals of the cow family.

According to official data, there are over 5,268 cow protection centers which have close to 6 lakh cattle. The fodder bank model, developed by the state government, is ensuring timely fodder through 3452 Fodder Banks which are feeding lakhs of stray cattle in UP. The state government also has a provision of giving financial assistance of Rs 900 per month to every farmer taking care of stray cattle.

In view of the Covid situation, a total of 700 help desks for the welfare of cows have been set up across the districts of Uttar Pradesh. In November 2021, the state government announced that it’s starting an ambulance service for cows.

The Yogi Adityanath government has shut down 150 illegal slaughterhouses and identified 356 cattle traffickers as part of its efforts to protect cows and combat smuggling.

And it’s not just the elected government that’s deeply concerned. The Allahabad High Court in 2021, while denying bail to a person accused of cow slaughter said that protection of cows is a fundamental right for Hindus and the cow should be the country’s national animal. In 2020, up until August the UP Police had invoked the NSA against 139 people in the state, six people in connection with crimes against women, 37 for heinous crimes and 76 for cow slaughter

The opposition too has used cattle welfare as a major poll point in their campaign strategy - with both Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of the Congress and Akhilesh Yadav of SP claiming that UP has top position in the number of cows buried alive.

The focus towards cows makes one wonder what would happen if they showed up to the polling station on voting day - however for now, it’s just us two legged animals!

Will Yogi's Rhythm Bovine be Moosic to UP voters? We will see!