Modi matters more:

UP matters more:

Mandir matters too:

Satraps for satraps

NEW DELHI: The defeat of BJP 's three chief ministers (Shivraj Chauhan, Raman Singh and Vasundhara Raje), who before 2014 were counted among contenders for leading the party into the elections, leaves Prime Minister Narendra Modi the only leader that the BJP can truly bank upon in 2019.That also increases BJP's dependence on him as a vote-getter especially since emergence of Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the principal challenger may turn 2019 into a presidential-style contest between the two.The three states that BJP lost -- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh -- account for 65 Lok Sabha seats of which it had won 62 in 2014. If assembly poll results are extrapolated to parliamentary seats, BJP could lose 31 of these in 2019. That makes neighbouring Uttar Pradesh crucial where BJP had won 71 and its allies two of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2014. That also means a more central role for its chief minister Yogi Adityanath in BJP's plans for 2019.With UP becoming a must-win and Yogi government's development record not offering anything spectacular, chances of the Ram Mandir agitation gaining intensity in the coming days are high (it may figure in Parliament too in the form of a private member's bill). With the possibility of Mayawati's BSP and Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi party coming together (with Congress as a minor player) to turn UP into a bipolar contest, the Ram Mandir issue may come in handy to polarise voters and paper over anti-incumbency and caste divides among Hindu voters. Who better to lead the Mandir campaign than Yogi Adityanath.: BJP's regional stalwarts may have lost but others may help fill some of the void. 2019 will also be about regional satraps like TRS's K Chandrasekhar Rao, BJD's Naveen Patnaik and Trinamool Congress's Mamata Banerjee some of whom may be open to alliances at the Centre.