LUCKNOW: Though the BJP had claimed to win all 80 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, the results proved to be quite the opposite.
The saffron party managed to win only 32 seats and the alliance won three, while the Indian Union won 44 seats surprising political observers.
The defeat in Uttar Pradesh came as a shock to the saffron party, whose top brass including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had addressed many election rallies across the state.
Political experts say the BJP was banking heavily on the Ram temple issue and the popularity of Prime Ministers Modi and Adityanath, but the results have proved otherwise.
“Many state BJP leaders were talking about changing the constitution if the party wins more than 400 seats in the LS elections… it sent the wrong message to Dalits and OBCs,” said veteran political analyst JP Shukla. DH here.
Shukla said a section of Dalit and non-Yadav OBC voters supported the Indian Union in the elections fearing that the BJP would amend the constitution and scrap reservations in their favour.
The defeat in the Ayodhya Lok Sabha seat was blamed on incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party MP Lal Singh’s statement that the constitution would be amended if the party won more than 400 seats. “The Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate in Ayodhya was from a Dalit background and secured the support of a large section of the Dalit community, resulting in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s defeat,” said another Lucknow-based political analyst.
He said a large section of non-Yadav OBC voters also supported the Indian Union in the LS elections. “The SP has successfully fielded a large number of non-Yadav OBCs in the elections and sent a positive message to the community,” he added.
However, OBC organisations linked to the BJP failed to secure victories in their strongholds. Suheldev Bharat Samaj Party (SBSP) leader and Uttar Pradesh Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar failed to ensure victory for his son in Ghosi constituency, while Uttar Pradesh Minister Sanjay Nishad’s son Praveen Nishad also lost the election to his SP rival.
Another OBC leader, Union Minister Anupriya Patel of the Apna Dal (AD), a largely Kurmi organisation, narrowly won a close election in Mirzapur constituency but her party lost in the Kurmi-majority Pratapagarh constituency.
State BJP leaders said many of the party’s sitting legislators did not try to reach out to voters in their respective LS constituencies, resulting in the party re-nominating them and resulting in the defeat of 26 sitting legislators in the elections.
Seven union ministers and two state ministers were defeated in the election, but the margin of victory for senior BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Modi and Union Minister Rajnath Singh, narrowed significantly.
A senior BJP leader in the state government said the party could face defeat in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections if corrective measures are taken immediately.
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Published June 5, 2024 14:46 IST
