A flurry of meetings has taken place in BJP circles in Lucknow and Delhi after Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya told the state BJP executive meeting on Sunday that “organisation must remain more powerful than the government and all MLAs, ministers and public representatives must accord respect to the party workers.” Later, Maurya went to Delhi and had a long discussion with party chief JP Nadda. Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary on Wednesday went to Delhi and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nadda. There are reports that the BJP high command has given a clear message to state party leaders that there would be no change of leadership in the state, and Yogi Adityanath would continue to remain the Chief Minister. The high command has reportedly told the state leaders that there shall be no more discussion about the state leadership. Secondly, the high command has given hints about making changes in the state party organisation, but this would be done after the byelections for 10 assembly seats are over. Thirdly, the party high command has clearly said that the foremost aim now was to win all the 10 assembly seats at stake by working unitedly.
On Wednesday, in Lucknow, CM Yogi Adityanath held meetings with 13 cabinet ministers and 17 ministers of state, who have been given charge of these 10 byelections. Yogi told the ministers to visit these 10 constituencies, stay there for the night for at least two days in a week, work at the ground level, listen to public grievances and resolve the problems of party workers at the booth level. The ministers promised to work hard, but at the same time, told Yogi that there must be careful and proper selection of candidates. The ministers told Yogi that on the ground level, some bureaucrats were ignoring BJP workers and leaders and are not paying attention to their problems. The ministers also told the CM that the selection of candidates must not be on the basis of recommendations but on the basis of real-ground reports.
The ten assembly byelections are a bit tough for the BJP to win. In the last elections, the Samajwadi Party had won five seats, the BJP had won three, and the Nishad Party and RLD had won one seat each. The seats include Karhal, which has been with Samajwadi Party since 1993. Samajwadi Party’s Awadhesh Prasad who won from Milkipur near Ayodhya nine times, is now the MP from Faizabad. Kundarki seat in Moradabad was won last by BJP in 1993. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is also worried about retaining his party’s seats. He is banking on his PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpasankhyak) formula. It was under Akhilesh Yadav’s leadership that the Samajwadi Party-Congress combination gave a big setback to the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections from UP. BJP’s LS tally from UP was reduced from 62 in 2019 to 33 this time. This seems to be the primary reason behind the convulsions that have gripped the state BJP now.
For the last one month, there have been media speculations about the possibility of Yogi losing his chief ministership, but the BJP high command has firmly taken a stand not to replace him as CM. The high command has firmly told the state leaders that there was no alternative to Yogi at present, and the Chief Minister will continue to run the government. The party high command has also decided to give a free hand to Yogi. The Chief Minister will have a big say in the selection of candidates and preparation of strategy for byelections. Party chief JP Nadda has clearly told KP Maurya that merely mouthing remarks like “organisation is bigger than government” will not do. He was told that the organisation is, of course, bigger, but all party workers and leaders must remain united and work in a cohesive manner. State leaders have also been asked to refrain from making such remarks, because it can create confusion among the rank and file.
As far as byelections are concerned, winning all the 10 assembly seats is a big challenge, both for BJP and Akhilesh Yadav. Out of the 10 seats, SP had won five, and in 2022, BJP had won only three out of these ten seats. Karhal assembly seat was vacated by Akhilesh Yadav. Both Late Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh won this seat in the past. For Akhilesh, it will be a tough challenge to retain this seat now. Similarly, the BJP lost the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat to Samajwadi Party’s Awadhesh Prasad Passi, who has become the party’s poster boy for Ayodhya. But, the Milkipur assembly seat that Awadesh Prasad has vacated, is now being eyed by BJP, to exact revenge for its defeat in Lok Sabha polls. Winning these seats is a big challenge for Yogi Adityanath, and the Chief Minister has accepted the challenge.
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