BJP in OBC-upper caste dilemma over UP chief

Already lagging behind in poll preparations, as compared to the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led SP and Mayawati’s BSP, the BJP is finding it hard to decide whether to name an OBC or an upper caste leader as its next Uttar Pradesh unit chief. Also, a section within the BJP wants the party to project a chief ministerial face to take on chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Ms Mayawati. Senior BJP leaders from the state are likely to hold consultations with the central leadership on Sunday to discuss election-related issues as well as the next state unit chief. In UP, the BJP’s main target will be the OBCs, who constitute more than 45 per cent of the total population.

Political pandits are claiming that 2017 will see an electoral battle between the SP and the BSP as the saffron party has done nothing to hold on to its stunning performance in the general elections, when it won 71 of the 80 parliamentary seats. The BJP had won 47 of the 403 Assembly seats during the last Assembly elections in UP where the caste factor plays a major role.

The names of Aonla MLA Dharampal Singh, senior leaders Swatantra Dev Singh and Dinesh Sharma, Phulpur MP Keshav Maurya, Union ministers Ramshankar Katheria and Santosh Gangwar are doing the rounds for the next state unit chief of the BJP. Sources disclosed that the party is seriously considering naming an OBC leader to head its state unit but then will have to project an upper caste leader are its CM candidate if the party decides to go with a face. Some leaders have also suggested that current chief Laxmikant Bajpai should be given extension as the Assembly elections are early next year.

While both SP and BSP have even started shortlisting their candidates for the crucial polls scheduled early next year, the BJP is still sorting out its leadership crisis.

Sources disclosed that even if the BJP decides to project a CM candidate, most of its senior leaders are confined to a particular region. In this case, a Union minister from the state could be projected as CM candidate.

The party’s feedback from the state is also not enthusing as not only is the party lagging behind in poll preparations, it has also failed to mobilise its cadre or supporters for any big campaign since the general elections, except during its membership drive. Among other issues, BJP poll managers are also wary of the BSP’s strategy as Ms Mayawati’s party had in the past heavily dented the saffron party’s brahmin votebank.