New Delhi: The BJP's electoral debacle in Uttar Pradesh was mainly due to the "discontentment" of the party workers against the national leadership. At the so-called review meeting held on Saturday, a large section of the party functionaries pointed fingers at the central leaders, holding them accountable for the "poor" outcome in the state.
"Disconnect with the workers'', "overplaying the OBC card", "arbitrary distribution of tickets" and "inducting and promoting turncoats" by the central leadership were cited as the "reasons" for the partial collapse of the saffron party in the state. The state functionaries were also upset at some of the central leaders' alleged attempts to portray the debacle as "sabotage" by the state leadership.
"The UP election result is the party workers' message to Delhi leaders," a senior state unit leader said on condition of anonymity. It was revealed that the majority of the BJP workers "did not even step out to work for the party." The Delhi leadership is also being accused of trying to "cripple" strong state leaders in both UP and Madhya Pradesh.
Reports suggest that the friction between the two influential figures (in the state and at the centre) has been an open secret. The UP leaders, who have been at the helm of significant regional success, reportedly felt undermined by decisions and directives "originating" from Delhi.
At the meeting, it was revealed that as the elections approached, the "Delhi Durbar" took over the reins and controlled the distribution of tickets. Repeated indications by the state unit to change sitting BJP MP Lallu Singh from Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency apparently fell on deaf ears.
"His defeat was written on the walls," a senior state unit leader said. The video of Mr Singh, in which he purportedly stated that the BJP needs a two-thirds majority to amend the Constitution, went viral and caused the saffron party embarrassment.
The state unit leaders were also against fielding Saket Misra, son of Nripendra Misra, the bureaucrat, heading the Ram temple trust from Shravasti Lok Sabha constituency. Mr Misra lost by over a margin of 76,000 votes.
There has also been growing resentment against the central leadership for allegedly imposing "outsiders" on the state. It was claimed that during the formation of the UP Cabinet in 2022, a significant number of ministers were from other parties.
At least eight BJP MLAs were axed to accommodate the outsiders , sources revealed. State unit leaders also resented the decision to promote a backward leader (who switched over to the BJP from the BSP) in the Yogi Cabinet. Another bureaucrat's "forced" induction into Yogi Adityanath's cabinet had also ruffled feathers.
On the issue of overplaying the OBC card, it is learnt that the central leaders' OBC-centric campaign and moves to give them tickets and Cabinet berths cost the party its upper caste votebank. As the BJP apparently went on an overdrive to woo the OBCs, Dalits and Extremely Backward Castes (EBC), the party's core votebank -- Brahmins, Rajputs, Kayasth and Baniya -- started shifting to the Samajwadi Party and the Congress. At the end, both the SP and the Congress successfully breached the BJP's web of social engineering, consisting mainly of the OBCs, Dalits and EBCs.
At the meeting, it was further alleged that the majority of the BJP candidates were decided by the central leadership "without" consulting the local leaders, district committee members, party workers, among others. It was the party's central election committee that took the final call on the selection of candidates.
