What is confusing for the BJP after the 2024 Lok Sabha election results is not only the reduction in the number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, but also the reduction in vote share. (PTI)
The BJP has prepared a set of questions that will be put not to the voters, but to district leaders and block-level leaders, including BJP cadres. A report must be sent to the country’s leadership within seven days so that corrective measures can be taken before the 2027 Assembly elections.
What has gone wrong for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh that its numbers have dropped from 62 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 to just 33 this time? The party has created an elaborate system to get millions of dollars in answers to questions that cannot touch the 272 mark in the Lok Sabha itself.
Surprisingly BJP after the result of Lok Sabha election 2024 has not only reduced the number of seats in Uttar Pradesh but also reduced its vote share. In 2019, the saffron party received almost 50% of the vote share, while this time it was higher than 41%.
The BJP has now forced the organization to find answers to some important questions within a week. The report will be sent on June 25 to state leaders, which will be scrutinized by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BJP state president Bhupendra Chowdhury, UP BJP in-charge Baijayant Panda and co-incharge Sanjeev Chawrasia.
When the BJP has been entrusted with the exercise with senior leaders, questions will be put in the booth and Mandal– level worker, said the party source. The party has prepared a set of questions that will be brought to the micro level. One BJP leader has been appointed in charge of each Assembly constituency.
The question will not be posed to voters, but to district leaders and party leaders at the block level, including BJP cadres. Sources said the party thinks the best way to justify itself in Uttar Pradesh is by seeking direct criticism from near the bottom of the organizational pyramid, with an eye on the 2027 Assembly elections.
Sample questions include – How good is the BJP candidate with the public? Why do Hindu voters vote on caste considerations? Does the decision of the state or central government anger the voters? Are BJP cadres active on the ground? How good or bad is the communication between the organization and the candidate concerned? Does BJP excel or fail in booth management? Are senior BJP leaders enough to appease the caste and join them?
BJP sources said that the INDIA opposition party’s campaign in every seat the party lost or won by a slim margin will be scrutinized. Why the BJP failed to create a counter narrative is a question to be asked and the responsibility of concerned leaders.
However, the choice of the candidate will remain out of the question as the party feels that the final announcement of the candidate by the central election committee took place after many rounds of discussion with the central leadership which was preceded by the same round of discussion between the UP BJP state leaders.
As many as 27 sitting MPs lost this election from Uttar Pradesh. This included seven Union ministers and two state ministers who had to blow the dust. Jat leaders like Sanjeev Balyan lost from the Jat land of Muzaffarnagar while Maneka Gandhi lost from Sultanpur.
In Purvanchal, there are a total of 12 seats – Varanasi, Machlishahr, Jaunpur, Bhadohi, Mirzapur, Chandauli, Robertsganj, Ghazipur, Ghosi, Azamgarh, Lalganj and Ballia. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP, with its ally Apna Dal-Soneylal, won seven of these seats, losing only in Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Ghosi, Lalganj and Azamgarh. Later, it won Azamgarh in the bypoll.
But this time, the BJP won only three, including one by Apna Dal-Soneylal. It has lost Jaunpur, Machlishahr, Chandauli, Robertsganj, Ghazipur, Ghosi, Lalganj, Azamgarh and Ballia.