LUCKNOW: Contrary to the speculations of ‘major leadership changes’ in both the state government and the BJP organisation in UP following the party’s debacle in the recent Lok Sabha elections, highly-placed BJP sources claim that the party has not been mulling ‘any surprise’ as speculated in the Yogi Adityanath government. However, the party top brass is prepping not only for an organisational overhaul, but also a cabinet rejig.
The speculation regarding a ‘big leadership change’ gained further weight after Deputy CM Keshav Maurya and UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhury met the party’s national president JP Nadda on Tuesday night followed by Chadhury’s one-hour-long meeting with PM Modi in national capital on Wednesday.
The political circles have been abuzz with an ongoing Yogi- Maurya tussle which has been there since 2017 when, despite having won the Assembly polls with a mammoth majority under the stewardship of Keshav Maurya as state BJP chief, Yogi Adityanath was chosen to helm the state much to his (Maurya) chagrin.
At present, Maurya, who batted for the organisation first theory at party state executive meeting in Lucknow on Sunday, is believed to have flagged his reservations with Yogi's governance with the central leadership but both he and Bhupendra Chaudhury were asked to strike a better synergy between the state government and the party organisation in the state.
However, both Maurya and Bhupendra Chaudhury were reportedly instructed by the national president to enhance synergy between the state government and the party organization, and to quell rumors of internal strife which could be exploited by the Opposition.
According to sources, the Prime Minister discussed key organisation issues with Bhupendra Chaudhury. The BJP, it is learnt, is keen on having an OBC leader as its state chief with the intent to bounce back from the Lok Sabha poll debacle which saw the party dwindle to 33 seats from 62 in 2019. The focus will be on state polls which are just three years away in 2027.
The incumbent UP BJP chief hails from the Jat community and he was appointed in 2022 to quell the resentment within the community against the BJP owing to the three farm laws. However, now the party leadership is looking at replacing Chaudhury by an OBC leader in an attempt to woo the community which somewhat drifted away from it in 2024 Lok Sabha election. Significantly, OBCs account for a sizeable majority of over 42 per cent of the state's population.
After getting a resounding victory in the last two state assembly polls in 2017 and 2022, the BJP will leave no stone unturned to score a hat-trick. As a result, wide and big changes in the party organisation are likely.
According to BJP sources, the first and foremost change could be a reshuffle and expansion of the Yogi cabinet followed by major changes in organisation. If the sources are to be believed, the cabinet reshuffle and expansion would be inclusive of the caste equations, social engineering and the political outlook of the seats which the party lost in 2024 LS polls.
Sources confirmed that those regions where the BJP failed to secure a victory will get adequate representation in consonance with the political equation in the cabinet. Sources also claimed that after multiple rounds of meetings between the state and the central leaders of the BJP, it was inferred that proper political equation based on caste configuration of the state would help improving the party’s prospects in the upcoming polls.
“The main focus of the party leadership is to increase the representation of backward classes and scheduled castes on responsible positions,” said a senior BJP leader.
The cabinet and organisation rejig may witness several faces swapping their positions. While some of the ministers may be sent to spruce up the organisation while some from the organisation may be entrusted with ministerial responsibilities.