Setting aside BJP's disappointing performance in the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended heartfelt birthday greetings to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, aiming to uplift his spirits amidst rising speculations about his leadership.
On his social media platform X, Modi highlighted Yogi's significant contributions to the development of Uttar Pradesh and his efforts toward empowering the underprivileged, wishing him a long and healthy life.
Post-election, Yogi cancelled official engagements on Tuesday but convened a crucial meeting with party leaders to dissect the electoral outcomes. Despite the setback, support from Modi and other senior leaders is seen as an effort to solidify Yogi's position within the party.
Yogi expressed his gratitude for the birthday wishes, particularly appreciating the Prime Minister's encouragement, which he described as inspirational in working towards a self-reliant and prosperous Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP insiders attributed the electoral failure to the inability of alliance partners to secure the Other Backward Classes (OBC) votes, despite alliances with various caste-based parties like the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), NISHAD Party, Apna Dal (S), and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).
Aiming ambitiously to win all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh to meet its national target of 400 seats, the BJP fell short. "Our allies failed to mobilise the voters. The caste-based leaders did not galvanise their support base to vote for the BJP," lamented a senior BJP leader.
Facing competition from the Samajwadi Party's (SP) PDA formula, the BJP re-inducted SBSP president Om Prakash Rajbhar into the NDA, hoping to secure Rajbhar votes. Rajbhar had previously left the BJP for SP before the 2022 Assembly elections. Additionally, the BJP enticed OBC leader Dara Singh Chauhan and successfully split RLD from the INDIA alliance in February.
Despite allotting seats to all NDA allies-with SBSP contesting one seat, and Apna Dal (S) and RLD contesting two seats each-the anticipated support failed to materialise. Praveen Nishad, Sanjay Nishad's son, was allocated the Sant Kabir Nagar seat for a second time.
The results revealed that these OBC leaders failed to draw non-Yadav OBC votes. Om Prakash Rajbhar's son was unsuccessful in securing the Ghosi seat, and the BJP faced defeats in key Rajbhar-dominated constituencies including Ballia, Chandauli, Ghazipur, Salempur, Lalganj, and Azamgarh.
Apna Dal (S) leader Anupriya Patel, a prominent Kurmi figure within the NDA, barely managed to retain her Mirzapur seat and lost in Robertsganj. The BJP also faced losses in other Kurmi-dominated areas such as Pratapgarh, Fatehpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Shravasti, and Jalaun.
Internal dissatisfaction among BJP workers highlighted organisational shortcomings.
"Neither the party's preparations nor its welfare schemes had the desired impact on voters. The overconfidence of top leaders and neglect of local cadres in ticket distribution led to substantial losses," said a BJP leader.
Of the 17 MPs replaced by new candidates, five were defeated, and the loss of 26 sitting MPs, including six Central Ministers, marked a significant backlash against the BJP's ticket distribution strategy, which ignored local concerns. While top leaders, including Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, retained their seats, they did so with reduced margins. Additionally, two state ministers lost their elections.
The BJP's vote share dropped from 49.97 per cent in 2019 to approximately 41.37 per cent in this election, signalling a decline in its influence in Uttar Pradesh.
"Multiple factors contributed to the poor performance, including the neglect of party cadres, reliance on outsiders, lack of coordination between the organisation and Government, and arbitrary ticket distribution," a senior leader explained. Inactive grassroots committees and ineffective ministers further compounded the party's challenges.
