A motorist drives past a defaced BJP political graffiti in an alley in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, on June 05, 2024. | Photo credit: Reuters
As the process of reviewing the poor performance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh, internal squabbles within the party have come to light. Not only did six Union Ministers lose their seats in the State, but 16 Ministers in the State government failed to retain the Assembly segment in a contested contest as the party dropped to 33 seats out of 62 seats in 2019.
From the complacency and confusion caused by the slogan “400 paar (more than 400)”, and unable to grasp the anti-incumbency against sitting MPs to bring in outsiders at the last minute and not getting the caste calculus right, some grouses emerged that gave some resemblance to the conspiracy theories floating around during the campaign, which It is suggested that the two ‘machines’ are on a collision course.
Election results 2024: Follow the highlights on 06 June 2024
Suddenly, meaning was drawn to the party’s poor performance in the Varanasi division (Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seat) and better attack rate in Gorakhpur (Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth’s constituency). Sources came up with stories of complacency and indifference to explain why Mr. Modi’s margin of victory dropped significantly. “With at least a dozen Ministers landing in the constituencies, local workers are staying in service instead of going underground,” said a source.
Sanjay Nishad, chairman of the Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal (NISHAD), an ally of the BJP entrusted with delivering votes from the boatmen community, told reporters that the NDA’s prospects in the state were under the slogan “400”. paar” led to complacency, and irresponsible statements were made by several candidates, including Lallu Singh and Arun Govil, about changing the Constitution of India. Mr. Nishad’s son, Praveen Nishad, lost the Sant Kabir Nagar seat to the Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate from the Nishad community, even though the Bahujan Samaj Party (BJP) Muslim candidate got more than 150,000 votes.
Jaiveer Singh, Minister in the Yogi Adityanath government, which failed to win the Assembly segment, said that the opposition had succeeded in misinterpreting the “400” slogan. paar”, created confusion in the minds of Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Dalits who, if voted to power, the party would take away their quota.
Meanwhile, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, who lost the Fatehpur seat, told the news agency that although she will continue to work in Fatehpur, she will identify those who are creating obstacles in Mr. Modi’s development.
Questions have also been raised about the efficacy of State party president Bhupinder Singh, who failed to show magic in his home division of Moradabad, where the party lost five out of six seats. Jat leaders on organizational grounds were brought to the party leadership during the farmers’ agitation.
But the biggest surprise for the party came from the Moradabad seat, where SP’s Vaishya woman candidate defeated BJP’s Thakur candidate in a constituency where the Muslim vote was decisive.
A senior leader in Muzaffarnagar, who is said to be close to Mr Adityanath, said the spread of Rajput discontent in Muzaffarnagar and Kairana by the caste politics of Sanjeev Balyan and Pradeep Chaudhary was damaging the party’s prospects across the country. He accused the party of ignoring the signal sent by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in ticket distribution. “This has led to the cold attitude of the cadres of the parent organization in some seats,” said a senior leader.
Those who feel that the central leadership is interfering too much in the distribution of tickets, say that the party is favoring Jats and Gurjars in the west at the expense of other communities, which are more widely spread in the State. Arguing that by bringing the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), the party saved Meerut and Fatehpur Sikri, and captured Bijnor and Amroha, it could not find supporters in the east.
A section of the cadre feels that, over the past few years, the BJP has brought in leaders from a party that does not have a clean image. “We can see that they are doing business under the same table, but we expect them to continue in a straight line. this dish (national interest),” said a senior party member from Firozabad.
The second concern is more practical. A BJP worker from Rampur said that when the party brought Ghanshyam Lodhi, he was expected to bring Muslim votes, as he grew up under the tutelage of SP’s Azam Khan. “Now, when he hugs the Muslim voting manager, who will not be allowed to approach the booth, it disturbs the core workers. Lodhi-yes sure he can carry them, but most of us feel otherwise. It makes sense that we are being watched 24X7 by six different people, our understanding of the seat is being questioned by outsiders who, if successful, will get panicle (benefits),” said an experienced party employee.
