Months ahead of the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, electricity — once projected as one of the Yogi Adityanath government’s biggest governance success stories — is rapidly turning into a politically sensitive issue. The backlash over smart prepaid electricity meters and mounting anger over unscheduled power cuts during peak summer have seemingly given the Opposition a potent issue that cuts across caste and regional lines.Since 2017, uninterrupted electricity supply has been among the BJP government’s strongest political pitches in Uttar Pradesh. Compared to the previous Samajwadi Party (SP) regime, the BJP repeatedly highlighted improved supply hours, fewer outages and expanded electrification as markers of “better governance”.AdvertisementBut with temperatures soaring and complaints of outages rising even in urban centres, the Opposition is now attempting to build a narrative around what it calls the “gap between government claims and ground reality”.BJP’s own MLAs complainThe political heat intensified after even BJP MLAs and ministers publicly expressed concern over the situation. Several ruling party legislators reportedly wrote to Power Minister A K Sharma over prolonged outages and growing local anger.In recent weeks, BJP MLA Rajeshwar Singh raised concerns over power cuts and stressed the need for better local-level grievance redressal, while BJP MLA Dr Neeraj Bora wrote to Sharma highlighting complaints from residents over unscheduled outages during peak summer. BJP MLA Ashok Kumar from Salon went a step further, alleging officials were ignoring even elected representatives and claiming that arbitrary cuts and aggressive checking drives were fuelling public resentment.AdvertisementOther BJP leaders too flagged public resentment, fearing electoral damage if the situation persists. Some political observers also took a swipe at newly appointed Minister of State for Energy Kailash Singh Rajput, remarking that instead of settling into office, he was confronted with a growing pile of public complaints.Sensing the seriousness of the issue, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath personally intervened. On Sunday, he held a high-level review meeting with Energy Department officials and directed them to ensure uninterrupted power supply during the extreme summer heat. He also reportedly warned against negligence, ordered strict monitoring and suspended some officials over lapses in supply and complaint handling.‘Major disaster’The government’s intervention came amid a coordinated Opposition attack. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav launched a sharp offensive, accusing the BJP government of failing on electricity management despite repeated claims of record supply. In a strongly worded social media post, he mocked BJP leaders for writing complaint letters to their own government and alleged the party was trying to shield itself from growing public anger over what he termed a “maha vidyut aapda (major power disaster)”.Akhilesh claimed the BJP government had become a burden on the people and accused it of ignoring public suffering during the extreme heatwave. “To escape growing public anger over an unbearable ‘major electricity disaster’ in UP, BJP leaders are writing letters,” he said in Hindi, accusing the BJP government of focusing more on damage control than solutions.BJP’s defenceSharma, however, strongly defended the government and asserted that Uttar Pradesh was witnessing the “highest electricity supply in its history”. He said the state recently crossed a peak supply of over 31,700 MW, calling it the highest not only in UP’s history but among all states in the country.Sharma claimed that in several areas electricity was being supplied beyond the prescribed roster and said technical teams were working round-the-clock to address disruptions caused by faults, weather conditions and infrastructure stress.Rejecting Akhilesh’s allegations, Sharma countered the “maha vidyut aapda” remark with the phrase “maha aapurti (massive supply)”. “This is not a major electricity disaster but an era of massive electricity supply. Uttar Pradesh is receiving the highest power supply in its historyThe Opposition, however, maintained that despite claims of record supply, frequent local outages and infrastructure stress remained the “ground reality” across many districts.Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati also warned the government over rising public distress caused by outages and heatwave conditions, saying it was the government’s responsibility to provide relief during such weather. Congress leaders too targeted the BJP over rising bills, outages and the alleged failure of the smart meter rollout, making electricity a key issue in their public outreach.Infrastructure issueyou may likeOfficials say the problem lies not merely in generation but in rapidly rising demand and inadequate distribution infrastructure. Uttar Pradesh’s power demand has surged sharply over the years — from around 11,634 MW in May 2012, when the SP government came to power, to 18,646 MW in May 2017, when the BJP first assumed office, to over 25,436 MW in 2022, when the BJP returned for a second term, and now nearly 30,000 MW this summer.Consumer Forum chairman Avadhesh Sharma said the surge in demand had accelerated much faster than anticipated. According to him, the spread of electric vehicles and increasing home-based EV charging had added unexpected pressure on the system. He argued that while generation and procurement had increased substantially, transmission networks, transformers and staffing levels had not expanded proportionately.“Earlier, demand used to rise gradually. Now consumption spikes suddenly because of changing lifestyles, air-conditioner usage and EV charging. Against this growing load, the staff strength and transmission system are falling short,” he said.