With an aim to counter the Samajwadi Party’s PDA, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has set its sights on consolidating its position in Uttar Pradesh by focusing on the Most Backward Castes (MBCs) among the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Party insiders say as part of new strategy that MBC leaders would be at the forefront of organizational efforts to unite and represent these communities, which have historically been marginalized within the larger OBC group.
Key MBC communities such as the Nai (barber), Vishwakarma (craftsmen), Sonar (goldsmiths), Chaurasia (betel leaf sellers), and Ankawanshi (small cultivators) are being specifically targeted. These groups have long been overshadowed by more politically powerful OBC sub-castes like Yadav, Kurmi, and Lodh, and the BJP sees an opportunity to mobilize them as part of its broader electoral strategy.
This initiative is being timed ahead of the upcoming by-elections for 10 assembly seats and the 2027 state elections.
Vijay Bahadur Pathak, state party vice-president said that the party aims to engage with these underrepresented communities. "Our teams, led by functionaries from various OBC groups, will reach out to these sections to inform them about their rights and the welfare programs launched by the BJP government at both the Centre and state levels," he said.
He said that this effort would counter opposition claims regarding threats to constitutional protections and reservations for OBCs and SC/STs.
This strategic push is seen as a response to the Samajwadi Party's (SP) successful Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak (PDA) narrative, which played a significant role in reducing the BJP’s dominance in Uttar Pradesh. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP’s seats in the state dropped from 62 in 2019 to 33, and its vote share fell from around 50% to approximately 41%.
Meanwhile, the SP and its ally Congress saw their vote shares rise significantly, with SP gaining more than 15% and Congress around 3%, bringing them to 34% and 9.5%, respectively.
BJP leaders pointed to their success in consolidating the OBC vote in Haryana, where they navigated the Congress’s attempts to win over the Jat community, which makes up 27% of the state's electorate. The BJP’s decision to replace Manohar Lal Khattar, a Punjabi Khatri, with Nayab Singh Saini, an OBC leader, was part of this strategy. Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, a Kurmi, played a key role in shaping this approach as Haryana’s election in-charge.
Political experts suggest that the BJP has been laying the groundwork for its MBC outreach in Uttar Pradesh for some time.
