BJP UP cadre to give ground report on Priyanka impact

New Delhi: With Priyanka Gandhi Vadra formally entering the political scene and regional parties SP-BSP joining forces, the BJP has activated its cadre in Uttar Pradesh to gather ground reports on how the twin factors will impact its poll prospects in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP, which is currently ruling the state along with alliance partners — Apna Dal and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party — is also seeking feedback on popular and credible party faces from each of the 80 parliamentary seats in the state, sources said.

Uttar Pradesh sends the largest members (80) to Lok Sabha and is considered crucial to coming to power at the Centre. The saffron party and its allies had won 72 seats in 2014.

Sources said there is a hint of unease among the saffron party’s poll managers over Ms Vadra entry into the battleground and her focus on eastern UP, which has some prominent parliamentary seats, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Varanasi.

In public statements, however, saffron leaders have been claiming that Congress’ “Priyanka card” will flop once again like all earlier occasions.

BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit chief Mahendra Nath Pandey claimed that the appointment of Ms Vadra will not pose even “one per cent challenge”, and asserted that it is a reflection of the Congress’ “dependence on a single family”.

BJP also claimed that Ms Vadra’s formal entry into the Congress is an admission of party president Rahul Gandhi’s leadership failure.

Ms Vadra’s entry into UP political scene came at a time BJP poll managers were desperately trying to contain the likely impact of SP-BSP alliance, which many feel could severely dent the saffron party’s poll prospects as it cannot match the Opposition alliance’s caste equation

The BJP will now have to factor in the possible impact of Ms Vadra’s presence which has revved up the already resurgent Congress.

There also seems to be suspicion among BJP leaders whether the Congress will actually turn the polls into a triangular fight as the latter knows that such a scenario may hurt the SP-BSP and benefit the saffron party.

BJP sources said that Mr Gandhi has kept the door open for an informal arrangement with SP-BSP despite the two regional parties not including his party in their Lok Sabha poll alliance in Uttar Pradesh.

Mr Gandhi had earlier said that he is ready to “cooperate” with these parties to defeat the BJP. “Our ideologies have many similarities... Our fight is against the BJP, and wherever we can cooperate with Mayawati
 and Akhilesh we are ready to do so,” he said.

Apart from asking the cadre to capture the pulse on rival parties’ move, the BJP is also looking to take public feedback before fielding its candidates.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently sough feedback from people on their preferences regarding BJP candidates from their respective seats, a move which had left many party MPs worried.

Speculation has been rife that the BJP, which currently holds 71 parliamentary berths in the state, would have to change more than 50 per cent of its sitting MPs to counter anti-incumbency and to take on the challenge posed by the SP-BSP alliance.