New Delhi: Foreign conspiracy, shifting of votes, overconfidence, the Opposition’s narrative on the threats to the constitution and neglect of party workers – these were some of the key points touched upon by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s top leaders as they met in Lucknow on Sunday, July 14, to diagnose the factors behind the party’s poor performance in the recently-concluded general election in Uttar Pradesh.
More than a month after the party’s slump in the key northern state, which sends as many as 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, the BJP on Sunday convened its state-executive meeting in the capital Lucknow. Though the BJP leaders did not use this exact terminology, the essence of the meeting was that the 2024 defeat was more a failure of propaganda and messaging than about any deficiency in the performance of the governments run by the party at the Centre and in the state.
The BJP and its allies won 36 seats in UP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, seven less than the tally of 43 seats secured by the underdogs INDIA Bloc comprising the Samajwadi Party and the Congress.
There were a few broad takeaways from the BJP’s meet, which was attended by chief minister Yogi Adityanath, BJP national president J.P Nadda, BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde, state president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary, deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak and others.
One, the hush-hush references to losing support base. Adityanath, in his address, said the election recorded a “shifting” of votes, but did not elaborate further, although we can derive that he meant marginalised Hindu communities, in particular, Dalits. He claimed that “over-confidence” hurt the BJP.
Two, the BJP believes that its prospects were dented by the Opposition’s campaign on the threats to the constitution and reservations. Nadda and Adityanath both tried to outline how the BJP honoured the constitution and stood to protect the rights of the tribals, Dalits and OBCs.
Their narrative was that it was not the BJP, but the Congress, which had a record of diluting the constitution, and made several references to the Emergency and dismissal of state governments by the Congress governments of the past. The BJP feels it failed to juxtapose the Congress’ past misadventures with its own measures to reach out to the marginalised communities.
There was an attempt to “spoil the atmosphere” through “rumours and confusion,” said Adityanath, acknowledging that the BJP lost the narrative battle against the Opposition on the topic of constitution and reservations, which was triggered by its own over-the-top claims of hitting the 400-seat mark. From the dais, the CM also needed to reaffirm that the BJP was the party that safeguards the rights of tribals, OBCs and Dalits and gives the “highest honour” to the constitution.
Three, foreign conspiracy to divide the Hindu society through caste. Adityanath did not mince his words when he alleged that there was an attempt by “foreign forces” to divide the society on the basis of caste to undermine India’s strength.
“The global forces know that if this society is scattered, it can be easily preyed upon but if it is united, even the biggest powers will collapse in front of it,” said Adityanath. “We must remain alert against the sin committed in the recent election of tearing apart your strength by dividing it in the name of caste. Foreign forces and our adversaries were successful in that conspiracy,” he said.
The BJP’s state president Chaudhary, in his presidential address, also pondered over this theme and said his party faced the challenge of exposing the “divisive conspiracy” and “negative agenda” of the Opposition in the upcoming by-polls to be held on 10 Assembly seats.
Four, reaching out to the Dalits. Adityanath underlined that BJP workers should have been more proactive on social media in countering the Opposition’s narrative on reservations and the constitution. Things could have been better had the party persuasively propagated its “achievements” regarding Dalit icons and thinkers, including the “Panchteerth” linked to B. R Ambedkar, and welfare schemes for the poor, Adityanath said.
It is largely understood that through the high-pitched narrative on reservations and the constitution, the Opposition managed to wean away a section of Dalit and OBC voters away from the BJP in this election. Adityanath reminded party workers on the ways they could target the Opposition on the issue of caste, by referring to the OBC identities of former MP Raju Pal, who was slain, and Umesh Pal, the witness in the case, who was also murdered.
Yogi Adityanath at the State Working Committee meeting of the Uttar Pradesh unit of BJP in Lucknow on July 14, 2024. Photo: X (Twitter)/BJP4UP
Five, the morale of the party workers. Attempts were made in the state executive body meeting to encourage and motivate the demoralised BJP workers. “There is no need for the BJP worker to be pushed on the backfoot under any circumstances,” Adityanath said, as he underlined the achievements of his government. This had clear communal undertones.
Under previous governments, the streets in UP would turn deserted during Moharram but now the festival is conducted in a seamless manner, Adityanath said. “In the name of tazia (processions), houses would be demolished, Peepal trees would be sliced, electricity wires would be removed from the streets, bridges would be dismantled. Today, it is said that no hutment of the poor will be removed, no wire will be displaced and if one has to celebrate a festival, they must do it within the precincts of the rules made by the government or stay at home,” Adityanath said.
Sixth, internal divisions in the BJP. The tongues got wagging after deputy CM Maurya declared that the party’s organisation was supreme to the government, in a subtle message to his competitor Adityanath that the party could not rely on power and bureaucracy to win elections.
“The organisation is bigger than the government, always has been and will remain so,” thundered Maurya to loud cheers in the auditorium in Lucknow. As an extension of this, he urged all public representatives of the BJP to give respect to party workers and resolve their issues on a priority basis.
Given that Maurya, who rose through the ranks of the BJP, is considered an organisation man, his statement was a message to both the party workers as well as Adityanath. The CM himself hinted upon the need for unity at all levels when he asked all elected representatives of the party, from the block pramukh level to parliament, to stand with the candidate “picked by the organisation” and resolve to ensure the win of the “lotus symbol.” A dent here, and the adverse impact could be seen at other levels of the governance structure, he argued.
Seven, the meeting would also stand out for its omissions. The BJP leaders did not address the livelihood issues faced by the public or the role of paper leaks and contentious measures such as the Agnipath scheme in reviewing its performance. Nadda, who delved into the history, cadre and ideological strength of the party, in fact, even seemed to taunt Opposition leaders, in particular the Gandhi siblings – Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra – for raising unemployment and inflation during the election. Nadda described them as “padhe likhe anpad” or “educated illiterates” for failing to see the growth and development achieved by the country under the leadership of Narendra Modi and its capacity to generate employment.
Nadda, rather than acknowledging the grievances of the people, stressed the need for better messaging. “Bahut acha nahi, bahut acha batana hota hain (Don’t just nod and say it’s good, go out and publicise it as good),” he said, while claiming that under the BJP, “world-class health systems” had been developed in Varanasi and Gorakhpur.
