Since June 4, when the Lok Sabha results from Uttar Pradesh shocked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – as the party won 36 seats compared to the opposition’s 43 – it was clear that the party was ready for a bumpy ride in the state. In comparison to smooth butter ride so far, bickering and challenges were bound to come up. Nearly one-and-a-half months after June 4 – the day of results – it is clear that all is not well in Uttar Pradesh for the BJP.
BJP General Secretary (Organization) BL Santosh sat with the state unit to find out what went wrong, state unit president Bhupendra Chaudhary has offered to resign and Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya has met party President JP Nadda. For the first time, dissent was made heard through the alleged ‘thakurvaad’. Perhaps for the first time, a government decision like the demolition drive in Lucknow was halted due to political costs.
In Uttar Pradesh, the wind is changing. While top party sources confirmed that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath continues to enjoy the same trust from the top guns of the party as before, the change could result in a cabinet overhaul, a new party chief in the country, new caste calculations in the organization and Yogi. cabinet and a more ‘understanding’ approach to policy implementation.
This rumbling UP does not happen in a day. It started at 12 noon on June 4 when BJP’s tally from Uttar Pradesh was seen. Like all events of political change, it showed signs from the beginning to Maurya’s aggressive speech at the UP BJP working committee meeting in Lucknow.
Here are 5 events that could force the BJP to change gears in UP, till the tenth polls and later in the 2027 assembly elections.
WARNING RAMESH MISHRA
The BJP MLA released a video reaction reminding the party why it is so difficult for the BJP to come back in 2027. They even demanded the intervention of the BJP central leadership – something unheard of in the Yogi era, at least before June 4.
Wearing a casual shirt and a relaxed smile, Badlapur MLA Ramesh Mishra recently recorded a video reaction that has gone viral ever since. He could be heard saying, “As the situation is now, the way PDA (Pichra-Dalit-Alsankyak or minority – social engineering of SP) is being discussed now and the way Samajwadi Party is able to create a false narrative among the masses, BJP is not in a good position till now. The situation can improve but for that, the central leadership should take a big decision and focus on the UP elections. Only then we will be able to form the government again in 2027. In the current situation, it will not happen.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav shared the video on his official social media expressing the popularity of PDA. SP claims that PDA is 85-90 percent of the population.
Samajwadi Party’s policy of ‘PDA’:- अम जान्ता को उसका हैक दिलवानेवाली- अम जान्ता का काल्यान करेनुवाली- राष्चा करेन्वाली– संविधान-आरक्ष्ट को राष्टेवाली– backed-dalits-minors-adivasis-half of the population and the oppressed in the middle class… pic.twitter.com/dTVzMDpk3t
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) July 13, 2024
When this video went viral, Mishra said his views were ‘distorted’. But the fact that an MLA could predict the apocalypse in 2027 and demand a ‘big decision’ from the top leadership is a sign of a change in UP politics.
ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION OF FORMER MINISTERS
Ramesh Mishra is not an aberration. Former Minister Rajendra Pratap Singh, better known as Moti Singh, went further to label the allegations of corruption at the police station level. The call has never happened, Singh said at a BJP event, “I have no hesitation in saying that in my 42 years of political career, I cannot think of or see the level of corruption in police stations and police stations. This is unimaginable. He went on to mention incidents that accused of over-policing and asking BJP cadres not to lose their dignity.This all came from a former minister of the Yogi government with party cadres applauding.The signs are very visible – there is a change in UP politics.
As in Mishra’s case, Akhilesh Yadav used attacks from BJP insiders to target the state government. He asked what other proof was needed than the BJP leader himself talking about the allegations of corruption.
SOM VS BALYAN IN THE LAND OF JAT
Perhaps the first indication of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh came from the Jat land of Muzaffarnagar in West UP shortly after the results came in.
BJP candidate and former union minister Sanjeev Balyan, who faced defeat from the Muzaffarnagar seat in the Lok Sabha elections, has pointed the finger at former BJP MP from Sardhana Sangeet Som, the latter returned. Political ping-pong goes on for a while.
After Balyan also lost from the Sardhana constituency (by 45 votes), which was under the supervision of former MLA Sangeet Som, he snapped when asked about Som: “I believe there should be an inquiry. Someone dared to help the Samajwadi Party but occupy a high position here ( in the BJP) and also have facilities.I asked the party leaders to understand the matter.They also said that the reason for BJP’s poor performance in the state is because of “Jaichands” – a reference to traitors.
It is clear that Balyan is practicing his guns on Som, who also refuses to campaign for the now defeated MP. In haste, he called a press conference to oppose Balyan. “I am the leader of Sardhana Assembly constituency in Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha seat and we are doing very well. He lost by a bigger margin in Budhana and Charthawal constituencies. He (Balyan) needs to introspect,” said Som. He also labeled corruption allegations against Balyan .
The BJP-dominated Jat land became a political playground after June 4.
LOCAL LEADERS ENTER
If former Ministers or sitting MLAs were not enough, here are local leaders joining the chorus by expressing their frustration at internal party rivalries, the cost of which the BJP will have to bear in the Lok Sabha elections.
At the BJP meeting in Prayagraj, Yamunapar regional President Vinod Prajapati also jumped in to express his frustration over the party’s internal bickering during the must-see elections. He said in the meeting that he and his soldiers are not against the Samajwadi Party but a section of the BJP itself, suggesting how one section can defeat the BJP.
THE MAURYA FACTOR
But what stands out very clearly is one of the statements of UP Dy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya when he publicly referred to the ‘organization’ as bigger than the ‘government’. Where you say it is more important than what you say. When Keshav Maurya made the statement, the stage at the UP BJP Working Committee meeting was attended by prominent leaders from the party’s top brass.
During a one-day BJP state working committee meeting, he stressed that the party structure and its cadres are always more important than the government. He added that all ministers, MLAs, and public representatives should respect party workers and ensure their dignity is upheld. Interestingly, before becoming Dy CM, he was the Chief of state unit of BJP. Later, a line in his cryptic tweet made more readers speculate, ‘…There is nothing bigger than the organization, the workers are proud…’
Rumors of a rift between CM Adityanath and Deputy KP Maurya started after the latter skipped several cabinet meetings chaired by the Chief Minister over the past one month. The CM met the ministers on Wednesday over the 10 upcoming elections, but the two deputy chief ministers – Maurya and Brijesh Pathak – were absent from the meeting.