As the Bharatiya Janata Party grapples with its recent electoral defeat in Uttar Pradesh, questions are mounting regarding the party’s failure to secure Other Backward Classes votes despite alliances with several caste-based parties such as Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, NISHAD Party, Apna Dal (Sonelal) and Rashtriya Lok Dal.
The BJP had ambitiously aimed to win all 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh to contribute towards its national target of 400 plus seats. “We did not get support from the allies. The caste-based leaders failed to galvanise voters and bring them to vote for the BJP,” a senior BJP leader stated.
Facing pressure from the Samajwadi Party’s PDA — Pichchde (backward classes), Dalit and Alpsankhyak (minorities) — formula, the BJP re-inducted SBSP president Om Prakash Rajbhar into the National Democratic Alliance, hoping to capture the Rajbhar votes. Rajbhar had previously left the BJP to join SP before the 2022 assembly elections. The BJP also enticed OBC leader Dara Singh Chauhan and managed to break RLD away from the INDIA bloc in February.
Despite allocating seats to all its NDA allies — with SBSP contesting one seat, and Apna Dal (Sonelal) and RLD contesting two seats each — the expected support did not materialise. Sanjay Nishad’s son, Praveen Nishad, was given the Sant Kabir Nagar seat for the second time.
The results indicate that these OBC leaders failed to attract non-Yadav OBC votes. Om Prakash Rajbhar’s son could not secure the Ghosi Lok Sabha seat. The BJP also faced defeats in key constituencies with significant Rajbhar populations, including Ballia, Chandauli, Ghazipur, Salempur, Lalganj and Azamgarh.
Apna Dal (S) leader Anupriya Patel, a prominent Kurmi face in the NDA, barely managed to win her seat in Mirzapur and lost in Robertsganj. The BJP also suffered losses in other Kurmi-dominated areas like Pratapgarh, Fatehpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Shravasti and Jalaun.
Internal dissatisfaction among the BJP workers further exposed organisational weaknesses. “Neither the BJP’s preparations nor its welfare schemes had the desired impact on voters. The party’s excessive confidence among top leaders, ignoring local cadres in ticket distribution, led to significant losses,” said a BJP leader.
Of the 17 MPs replaced by new candidates, five were defeated. The loss of 26 sitting MPs, including six Central ministers, signifies a significant backlash against the BJP’s ticket distribution strategy, which overlooked local grievances. Top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, won their seats but with reduced margins. Additionally, two state ministers lost their elections.
Compared to the previous election, the BJP’s vote share dropped from 49.97 per cent in 2019 to approximately 41.37 per cent this time, reflecting the party’s diminished influence in Uttar Pradesh.
“There are many reasons for the poor performance, including neglect of party cadre and reliance on outsiders, lack of coordination between the organisation and the government, and arbitrary ticket distribution,” a senior leader explained. Inactive grassroots committees and the ineffectiveness of ministers further exacerbated the party’s challenges.
