The BJP central leadership is understood to have stepped in to ensure better coordination between the Yogi Adityanath government and the UP BJP organisational unit ahead of the high-stakes UP assembly elections due early next year. The issue of functional coordination, a message conveyed repeatedly by the RSS, the BJP’s ideological fountainhead, has set in motion a series of meetings between the leaders of party organisation in the state and Yogi ministers. UP BJP chief Pankaj Chaudhary and state general secretary (organisation) Dharam Pal Singh have been engaging with two deputy CMs before taking crucial decisions.
RLD’s strategic move ahead of 2027 polls
Jayant Chaudhary-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has made a curious move in the midst of an ongoing battle of one-upmanship between former BJP MP Sanjeev Balyan and former party MLA Sangeet Som. While Balyan had represented Muzaffarnagar in Lok Sabha, Som had been an MLA from Sardhana. Meanwhile, the RLD is learnt to have initiated back-channel negotiations with the BJP to stake claim for contesting Meerut’s Sardhana assembly seat in the UP Assembly elections due early next year. The rift between the two leaders emerged after Som, a Thakur, blamed Balyan, a Jat, for his defeat in the Sardhana seat in the 2022 assembly elections.
Maya for a separate western UP state?
As UP is set for a crucial battle of ballots next year, BSP chief Mayawati has revived an old demand for a separate state of Western Uttar Pradesh. The timing of the demand is significant, as it came just days after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav launched his election campaign from Dadri in the westernmost part of the state. Earlier in 2024, Mayawati had reiterated her commitment to work towards creating a separate Western Uttar Pradesh state, but she did not repeat the demand last year. She has revived it now as Assembly elections are approaching. Western UP has traditionally been the BSP stronghold, as she hails from Bijnor.
Namita Bajpai
Our correspondent in Uttar Pradesh
namita.bajpai@newindianexpress.com