Dissent within the party and lack of cooperation from the district administrative machinery are the two main factors affecting the BJP’s performance in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections, a party task force said in its report submitted to chief minister Yogi Adityanath. The BJP’s tally dropped to 33 seats against the 62 it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Soon after the task force submitted its report, Adityanath transferred as many as 12 district magistrates (DMs) – mostly from districts falling within constituencies from where the BJP lost the 2024 elections.
The District Judges in Sitapur, Banda, Basti, Shrawasti, Kaushambi, Sambhal, Saharanpur, Moradabad, and Hathras were transferred while the DMs in Kasganj, Chitrakoot, and Auraiya – which are in Etah, Banda, and Etawah constituencies – were reassigned. The change reflects BJP’s loss in all these constituencies except Hathras.
The task force also blamed the BJP’s ‘strange’ distribution of tickets, the opposition’s ‘Constitutional Threat’ narrative, and the shift in the BSP’s vote base to the Samajwadi Party (SP) – which succeeded in wooing Dalit and Muslim voters by playing Picchda Dalit. Alpsankhyak card (PDA) – for party dismal events.
“Humein to apno ne loota, gairo mein kahaan dum tha, humari kashti bhi wahan doobi jahan paani kam tha…” a party official who is aware of the task force’s findings said, adding that “BJP’s downfall is less fated and more scripted”.
He said: “An important factor behind the BJP’s decline is internal dissent, mainly due to ticket distribution issues and discontent among the Thakur community.”
One of the controversies that hit the BJP was when Rajya Sabha MP Parshottam Rupala criticized the erstwhile royal family for aligning with the British, contrasting their stance with the steadfastness of the Dalit community who, he said, did not convert or form alliances despite severe persecution.
Rupala’s comments sparked outrage among Kshatriya organizations, including the Thakurs (Rajputs), especially in Saurashtra, Gujarat, where they are considered to be descended from princely families. While Rupala won the Rajkot seat, her claims hurt the BJP’s image in other regions, especially in UP’s Purvanchal, a Thakur-dominated region. This reaction led to a significant decline in the performance of the BJP-led NDA, with its numbers falling from 20 to 11 out of 27 seats in this critical belt during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Senior party officials said Thakur’s name was big, including Kunda MLA and Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik) leader Raghuraj Pratap Singh – better known as Raja Bhaiya – former MP and strongman politician Dhananjay Singh as well as Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Brijesh Singh, and Abhay Singh continued great influence in Purvanchal when it comes to UP politics.
“Raja Bhaiya has announced that he will not support any political party or candidate in the Lok Sabha elections. Also, Dinesh Pratap Singh, Raebareli BJP candidate, is reportedly facing discontent in the saffron camp. Singh, who is against Rahul Gandhi, is facing resistance from BJP MLAs Aditi Singh and former rebel SP leader Manoj Kumar Pandey. Former Union Minister of State for Home Affairs candidate Ajay Mishra Teni was also not welcomed by the ranks,” he said.
Also, the party’s task force found that the opposition’s ‘Threat to the Constitution’ narrative was damaging the BJP’s prospects.
The dispute started after a video of BJP candidate Lallu Singh went viral in which he said the government needs a two-thirds majority in Parliament to “make a new Constitution”. “The government formed with 272 seats can not change the Constitution. For that, or even if a new Constitution will be created, there is a need for more than two-thirds majority,” he heard said.
The speech gave fresh ammunition to the opposition, which is trying to undermine the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre. Congress leader Pawan Khera said the remarks came days after PM Modi assured the country that the Constitution cannot be changed “even if Ambedkar himself tried to do so”. Singh’s controversial remarks, political observers say, are a disaster for the party.
