The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faced a significant setback in the recent Lok Sabha elections, falling short of the majority mark and performing disappointingly in Uttar Pradesh. The party won 33 out of 80 seats, a considerable drop from previous elections. The Samajwadi Party (SP) outperformed the BJP by securing 37 seats, while the Congress, an ally of the SP, managed to win 6 seats.
To understand the reasons behind this electoral debacle, the BJP formed a task force of 40 leaders. According to a report by ThePrint, the task force identified several critical factors contributing to the party’s poor performance in Uttar Pradesh.
Key Findings from the BJP Task Force Report
The task force conducted an extensive review, visiting 78 out of the state’s 80 Lok Sabha constituencies, excluding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency Varanasi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s Lucknow. The report was shared with the BJP high command and highlighted the following issues:
- Disconnect Between Candidates And Voters: The report noted a significant gap between BJP candidates and the electorate, leading to a lack of effective communication and engagement.
- Shifting Dalit And OBC Votes: The BJP lost substantial support from Dalit and Other Backward Classes (OBC) voters. The opposition’s campaign suggested that the BJP would alter the Constitution if it came to power, which resonated with these communities.
- Failure Of BSP To Split Opposition Votes: The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) did not succeed in dividing the Muslim and Dalit votes, which could have benefited the BJP. Instead, there was a consolidation of the Muslim vote towards the SP-Congress alliance.
A source within the BJP, speaking to ThePrint, stated, “The report on the party’s debacle in UP has been shared with the central unit. Major factors cited in the report include the Dalit vote shifting away from the party due to the Opposition’s campaign claiming that the BJP would ‘change the Constitution’ if it came to power, the BSP failing to cut Muslim and Dalit votes to help the BJP, and the consolidation of the Muslim vote towards the SP-Congress alliance.”
Opposition Reaction
Following the publication of ThePrint’s report, opposition parties seized the opportunity to criticize the BJP. TMC Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale launched a fierce attack on the Uttar Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Gokhale accused the BJP of attempting to manipulate District Magistrates (DMs) to influence the election outcome.
Sharing ThePrint’s report titled “Lack of support from MLAs, ministers & DMs led to setback in Lok Sabha polls in UP, finds BJP task force,” Gokhale alleged that the BJP had pressured DMs to rig the elections in their favor. He tweeted, “This is as brazen as it gets. An internal BJP report that was allegedly made to review the party’s loss in UP cites ‘lack of support from DMs’ as a reason. A DM is also known as the District Collector and is the Returning Officer for elections for that area.”
Gokhale further claimed, “It is clear from this that the BJP openly tried to manipulate & coerce DMs to rig elections in their favor under the nose of the Modi-appointed Election Commission.” He added, “And now, several DMs who didn’t ‘help’ the BJP during elections have been transferred.”
In his critique of the BJP, Gokhale stated, “The fact that it went to the extent of pressuring DMs shows that the BJP is a gang of criminals who will do anything for power. And yet, despite openly trying to manipulate government machinery during elections, Modi & BJP failed to get a majority.”