UP BJP ready with report on ministers’ non-performance in polls
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh BJP have prepared a report on the performance of ministers and legislators who lost their constituencies in the Lok Sabha elections.
“The report will be sent this week and the party’s central leadership will make a decision on the action to be taken. UP BJP President Bhupendra Chaudhary and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have already taken feedback from the ministers and this will be a part of the report,” disclosed a senior party functionary.
The loss of seats for BJP in Uttar Pradesh is crucial because the party had given charge of the 75 districts and 80 Lok Sabha constituencies last year to ministers who were required to review the progress of development projects, welfare schemes and the campaign of the party in the constituencies.
None of the ministers reported any lapses in implementation or the disenchantment of the voters with the party or the government.
Rajvir Singh, who lost the election from Etah constituency, has already said that he lost because of internal sabotage by a section of party workers.
“I had informed the party high command about the conspiracy to defeat me but no action was taken. I hope some action is taken now,” he said.
The BJP’s Saharanpur candidate Raghav Lakhanpal has also blamed the party campaign strategy which he claimed to have backfired and led to the drifting of Dalit and OBC votes towards the opposition candidate.
He added that even the traditional BJP voters also backed Masood, the Congress candidate.
Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, who was seeking a third term from Fatehpur, lost to SP UP chief Naresh Uttam. She also smelt sabotage by some party leaders claiming that they created confusion among the voters.
None of the ministers in charge of these constituencies took note of the matter and did not bother to report the same to the party high command so that remedial steps could be taken.
BJP leaders are also questioning the relevance of allies like SBSP and Nishad Party who could not help the BJP get votes of their respective communities.
SBSP chief and UP minister Om Prakash Rajbhar lost the Ghosi seat that had been allotted to him and his son Arvind Rajbhar lost by 1.6 lakh votes.
Similarly, Sanjay Nishad, minister and head of Nishad Party’s son Parveen Nishad also lost the Sant Kabir Nagar to Samajwadi Party.
Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj, who secured victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha election third time in a row, said: “Strictest action should be taken against those who damaged the party in the crucial election. Several BJP candidates are talking about internal sabotage.”
UP’s Finance Minister Suresh Khanna attributed the defeat to the overconfidence of the party leaders and cadre. Khanna was the campaign in-charge of Shahjahanpur Lok Sabha seat. The BJP won the seat.
A senior BJP leader said the party failed to manage the booths as effectively as it used to do in earlier polls.
The BJP tally in the 2024 Lok Sabha election in UP declined to 33 from 62 in the 2019 election.