Dissent within the party and lack of cooperation from the district administrative machinery were two key factors that led to the BJP’s poor show in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections, the party’s task force has said its report submitted to chief minister Yogi Adityanath. The BJP’s tally dropped to 33 seats versus the 62 it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Soon after the task force submitted its report, Adityanath transferred as many as 12 district magistrates (DMs) — mostly from the districts falling in the constituencies from where BJP lost in the 2024 polls.
District Magistrates in Sitapur, Banda, Basti, Shrawasti, Kaushambi, Sambhal, Saharanpur, Moradabad, and Hathras were transferred while DMs in Kasganj, Chitrakoot, and Auraiya — which come under Etah, Banda, and Etawah constituencies — were reassigned. These changes reflect the BJP’s losses in all these constituencies except for Hathras.
The task force also blamed BJP’s ‘odd’ ticket distribution, Opposition’s ‘Threat to Constitution’ narrative, and a shift of the BSP vote base to Samajwadi Party (SP) — which successfully managed to woo the Dalit and Muslims voters by playing its Picchda Dalit Alpsankhyak (PDA) card — for the party’s dismal show.
“Humein to apno ne loota, gairo mein kahaan dum tha, humari kashti bhi wahan doobi jahan paani kam tha…” a party functionary in the know of the task force’s findings said, adding that “BJP’s downfall was less destined and more scripted”.
He said: “A significant factor behind the BJP’s decline was internal dissent, attributed primarily to issues with ticket distribution and dissatisfaction within the Thakur community.”
One of the controversies that cost the BJP was when Rajya Sabha MP Parshottam Rupala criticised erstwhile royal families for aligning with the British, contrasting the stand with the steadfastness of the Dalit community which, he claimed, did not alter its religion or form such alliances despite severe persecution.
Rupala’s comments sparked outrage among Kshatriya organisations, including Thakurs (Rajputs), especially in Saurashtra, Gujarat, where they are regarded descendants of princely families. While Rupala won the Rajkot seat, his statements adversely affected the BJP’s image in other regions, notably in UP’s Purvanchal, a Thakur-dominated area. This backlash contributed to a significant decline in the BJP-led NDA’s performance, with their tally dropping from 20 to 11 out of 27 seats in this critical belt during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
A senior party functionary said big Thakur names, including Kunda MLA and Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik) chief Raghuraj Pratap Singh — popularly known as Raja Bhaiya — former MP and strongman politician Dhananjay Singh as well as Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Brijesh Singh, and Abhay Singh hold substantial sway in Purvanchal when it comes to UP politics.
“Raja Bhaiya announced that he will not support any political party or candidate in the Lok Sabha elections. Similarly, Dinesh Pratap Singh, the BJP’s Raebareli candidate, reportedly faced discontent within the saffron camp. Singh, who was up against Rahul Gandhi, faced resistance from BJP MLA Aditi Singh and former rebel SP leader Manoj Kumar Pandey. The candidature of former Union Minister of State for home affairs Ajay Mishra Teni was also not welcomed by the ranks,” he added.
Other than this, the party’s task force found that the Opposition’s ‘Threat to Constitution’ narrative hurt the BJP’s prospects.
The row began soon after a video of BJP’s candidate Lallu Singh went viral where he said the government would need two-thirds majority in Parliament to “make a new Constitution”. “A government formed with 272 seats cannot amend the Constitution. For that, or even if a new Constitution is to be made, there is a need of over two-thirds majority,” he was heard saying.
The speech gave fresh ammunition to the Opposition, which tried to corner the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre. Congress leader Pawan Khera said the remarks came to light days after PM Modi had assured the country that the Constitution couldn’t be changed “even if Ambedkar himself tried to do it”. Singh’s controversial remark, the political observer said, turned out to be catastrophic for the party.
