Lok Sabha poll debacle: U.P. ministers’ role under scanner
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath set the ball rolling by calling a meeting of the council of ministers in Lok Bhawan on Saturday. He collected feedback from the ministers regarding the performance of the NDA candidates in their area. The ministers in whose constituency BJP candidate got less vote in comparison to INDIA bloc candidate had a tough time explaining the reasons for the debacle.
Lucknow: After the setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the role and working of ministers in the Uttar Pradesh government is under scanner.
The BJP’s top leadership will review the performance of the ministers in a meeting likely to be held after the formation of the NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
How the NDA candidates fared in the constituencies of the ministers or in their strongholds and if the influence of the ministers worked in getting votes transferred to them, as well as the work done by the ministers in mobilization of the cadre and workers will be analyzed in the meeting. After scrutiny, the non- performing ministers might be removed and those in whose area the party fared well are likely to be rewarded.
The BJP has also directed the ministers to start preparations for the 9 assembly constituencies from where its MLAs were elected as MPs in the Lok Sabha election. By winning these assembly seats, the BJP wants to give a message that it is holding ground In UP despite reverses in the Lok Sabha elections. Altogether 13 MLAs and four MLCs contested the Lok Sabha elections. Eight legislators, including 5 MLAs and three MLCs, lost while 9 MLAs and one MLC won .
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath set the ball rolling by calling a meeting of the council of ministers in Lok Bhawan on Saturday. He collected feedback from the ministers regarding the performance of the NDA candidates in their area. The ministers in whose constituency BJP candidate got less vote in comparison to INDIA bloc candidate had a tough time explaining the reasons for the debacle.
The ministers were appointed in charge of the 75 districts and 80 Lok Sabha constituencies last year to review the progress of the development projects, welfare schemes and the campaign of the party in the constituencies. The party would examine the working of the ministers and the performance of the party candidate in the districts and constituencies allotted to the ministers, said a BJP leader.
Among the cabinet ministers, agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi was allotted Ayodhya and Azamgarh districts, finance minister Suresh Kumar Khanna was allotted Gorakhpur and Lucknow districts, Jal Shakti minister Swatantradev Singh was allotted Prayagraj and Banda , women welfare minister Baby Rani Maurya had Jhansi and Kanpur Dehat and sugarcane development minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary had Aligarh and Etawah.
Animal husbandry minister Dharampal Singh was allotted Meerut and Sambhal, industrial development minister, Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi Kanpur and Mirzapur, labour minister Anil Rajbhar had Gonda and Mau, MSME minister, Rakesh Sachan had Basti and Fatehpur, energy minister AK Sharma had Agra and Siddharthnagar, higher education minister Yogendra Upadhyaya had Saharanpur and Farrukhabad, technical education minister Ashish Patel had Lakhimpur Kheri and Sultanpur and fishery minister Sanjay Nishad was made in charge of Bahraich and Auraiya districts.
Ministers of state, independent charge as well as ministers of state were also allotted districts and constituencies before the start of the Lok Sabha elections. The report from the parliamentary constituencies indicates that vote shares of the NDA candidates shrank in the area of the ministers in comparison to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Among the ministers in UP government, PWD minister, Jitin Prasad secured victory from Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat while tourism minister Jaivir Singh lost from Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat and horticulture minister Dinesh Pratap Singh lost from Rae Bareli seat.
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections set the pitch for the 2027 assembly elections. Though the assembly elections will be held after two and a half years, before the poll the BJP will have to regain the lost ground and fortify its position breached by INDIA bloc in the parliamentary elections.
In a terse message to the ministers on Saturday, chief minister Yogi Adityanath told them to shed the VIP culture and visit the field to redress the grievances of the people. Aware that INDIA bloc will go on the offensive to maintain the momentum of the 2024 Lok Sabha gains, Yogi has planned to counter the move by giving momentum to development and welfare schemes.
Talking to HT after the meeting, several ministers said they gave feedback to the chief minister about the performance of the party candidates in their assembly constituencies as well as in the Lok Sabha constituency allotted to them. “We faced a tough time explaining to the CM why the party candidate got less vote than INDIA bloc in our area,” said animal husbandry minister Dharampal Singh.
Praveen Nishad, son of fishery minister Sanjay Nishad, who is chief of NISHAD Party, lost from Sant Kabir Nagar constituency while Arvind Rajbhar, son of panchayati raj minister Om Prakash Rajbhar (who is president of SBSP) lost from Ghosi seat. Sanjay Nishad said, “We failed to counter the opposition narrative of amendment in Constitution and reservation.” Om Prakash Rajbhar said there was lack of coordination by the BJP district unit during the election.
Basic education minister Sandeep Singh whose father Rajveer Singh lost from Etah Lok Sabha constituency said, “We will examine the reasons for the defeat and overcome the shortcomings before the assembly elections.” Transport minister Daya Shanker Singh said, “We told the chief minister that the opposition misled the people and we failed to counter them effectively.”
Finance minister Suresh Khanna said the over confidence among the party leaders and workers led to the debacle in the parliamentary elections. “We will overcome our shortcomings to take over the opposition in the next electoral contest,” he said.
Cooperative minister JPS Rathor said the BJP lost on several seats but had not lost ground. The party organization would review the reasons for the defeat and prepare a strategy to regain lost ground, he said.