BJP Report On Poor Performance In Uttar Pradesh LS Polls (image:x.com/myogiadityanath)
As the internal conflict among BJP leaders taking the central spot, Uttar Pradesh BJP unit has submitted an extensive report to the party top leadership explaining the reasons for its poor performance in Lok Sabha election.
In the polls, the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance, secured 43 out of the state’s 80 Lok Sabha seats while BJP-led NDA was reduced to 36 (down from 64 in 2019). To analyse the debacle, the state BJP unit has submitted a 15-page report listing drawbacks in the election campaign.
According to an NDTV report, there is a 8% decline in the BJP’s vote share across all regions of Uttar Pradesh. The party obtained feedback from nearly 40,000 people, focusing on constituencies such as Ayodhya and Amethi.
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The report has identified six key reasons for party’s dismal performance and it includes administrative arrogance, paper leaks, hiring of contractual workers, party’s stand on reservations, faults in the election campaigns, and drifting of community vote banks.
Administrative Arrogance: The party workers felt bureaucratic high-handedness in the party and they are being sidelined. “The MLA has no power. The District Magistrate and adhikaris (officials) rule the roost. This is making our workers feel humiliated,” the NDTV reports as senior party leader is saying.
Paper Leaks: Over 15 paper leaks in the past three years alone had accentuated the opposition’s claims that the saffron party wanted to impede reservations.
Stand On Reservations: Party leaders stand against reservation policies accelerated the party’s diminishing support.
Hiring Of Contractual Workers: Since government jobs were being filled up by contractual workers, the senior party leader said:”it strengthened the opposition’s misleading narrative about us,” NDTV reports.
Drifting Of Community Vote Banks: The diminished electoral support from the Kurmi and Maurya communities, and a reduction in Dalit votes has also influenced the result. The report points out that the vote share of the Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) decreased by 10 per cent, while the Congress improved its vote count in three regions of the state, influencing the overall results.
Faults In Election Campaigns: Though rapid distribution of tickets gave an early advantage during campaigns, it caused fatigue among workers in later phases.
The report noted that since issues such as the Old Pension Scheme resonated with senior citizens, subjects like Agniveer and paper leaks connected with the youth. The opposition was effectual in raising issues that were concerned by the people, it added.
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As per BJP’s data, their weakest performances were in the west and Kashi (Varanasi) regions, where it gathered only eight of the 28 seats. In Braj (western UP), the party grabbed eight out of 13 seats. In Gorakhpur, known as Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s bastion, the saffron party could manage only six of 13 seats, and in Awadh (region that includes Lucknow, Ayodhya, Faizabad), it has gained only seven of 16 seats. In Kanpur-Bundelkhand, out of 10 seats, the BJP secured only four seats.
As state BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya met with senior party leaders. They are also planning broader strategy revision as well, NDTV reports.
As Yogi Adityanath attributed electoral debacle to party’s “overconfidence,” Keshav Prasad Maurya rebutted by saying the organisation should always takes precedence over government.
The immediate focus of the party is to resolve internal differences and began working for forthcoming by-elections.
