After LS polls, BJP redrawing strategy to win back support of OBCs in UP
After the INDIA bloc breached BJP's OBC support base in 2024, the ruling party will redraw its strategy to win back OBC support in Uttar Pradesh.
After the INDIA bloc breached the Bharatiya Janata Party’s non-Yadav Other Backward Classes (OBC) support base in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the ruling will redraw its strategy to win back the backing of the OBCs in Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP OBC Morcha will mull over the action plan in this regard at its working committee in Lucknow on July 29.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya, Brajesh Pathak and state BJP state president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary as well as secretary (organization) Dharampal Singh will participate in the meeting.
The meeting has been called on the first day of the Monsoon session of the UP Legislature, the first one after Lok Sabha election when the opposition parties, emboldened by the parliamentary poll results, are likely to target the state government on public issues.
Alarmed by the shift in the non-Yadav OBC votes to the INDIA bloc, the BJP has held a series of meetings in Lucknow and Delhi to review its underperformance in the Lok Sabha election in which the party could win only 33 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and the INDIA bloc won 43 seats. BJP national general secretary (organization) BL Santhosh held meetings with party leaders during his two-day visit to Lucknow on July 6 and 7 . BJP national president JP Nadda presided over the party’s state executive committee meeting on July 14.
Another meeting of the BJP leaders will be held in Delhi on July 25 and 26 under the chairmanship of Santhosh.
Uttar Pradesh BJP president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary had submitted a report to the party’s central leadership a few days back in which he mentioned that the shift of OBC votes to the INDIA bloc led to the BJP’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha election. OBCs form around 45% of the electorate in Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP’s Uttar Pradesh OBC Morcha president and Yogi government minister Narendra Kashyap said the morcha has dispatched teams across the state to collect feedback from OBC voters regarding their shift to INDIA bloc in the Lok Sabha elections. The focus will be on the OBC dominated Awadh and Kashi regions, where the BJP lost a large number of seats in the election.
“The party is committed to winning back the support of the OBCs. On the basis of reports submitted by the team members, a plan will be prepared to bring the OBCs back to the BJP fold,” he said.
Uttar Pradesh has about 10% floating voters and the INDIA bloc got a major chunk of this vote. According to the report submitted by the party leaders, the INDIA bloc got substantial general category votes as well.
“The shift of the OBC vote is a major concern for the party and the OBC Morcha will mobilise its resources to bring the OBCs back to the BJP fold. We will redress the grievances of the OBC community,” he said.
When asked about deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s demand on OBC, SC and ST reservation in staff hiring by the state government departments on outsourcing and contract, Kashyap said a large chunk of employment is being provided through outsourcing and contract in the government.
“According to the provisions in our Constitution, the OBCs must get reservation in the hiring of employees through outsourcing and contractual basis (too),” he said.
NDA ally and Apna Dal (Sonelal) chief Anupriya Patel as well as NISHAD party chief Sanjay Nishad and SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, also raised the OBC reservation issue after the Lok Sabha election.
Kashyap said, “The allies have their own ideology. Yet, they should desist from raising the reservation issue in the public domain. Rather, they should raise the issue at NDA meetings. The allies’ experiences shared in such meetings is taken cognizance of by the BJP and the issues are resolved.”
Rather than the PDA -- Pichada (backwards), Dalits and Alpsahkhyaks (Muslims) formula of the Samajwadi Party, false narrative like amendment of Constitution and denial of reservation in the government jobs floated by the SP created confusion among voters, Kashyap said.
“Preliminary reviews by the party indicates that extra enthusiasm and overconfidence among the party workers that they will win the election in name of Modi and Yogi proved detrimental in the election,” he said.
At the working committee meeting, the OBC Morcha will address these issues to prepare a work plan for the party’s victory in the 2027 U.P. assembly election, Kashyap said.