LUCKNOW: Bolstering social coalition comprising OBC and Dalits is expected to be high on the agenda of the BJP’s state executive meeting in Lucknow on Sunday.
According to sources, the message of shoring up footprints among all classes, primarily the OBC and SC/ST, would be conveyed by the party brass to functionaries in the presence of national president JP Nadda, CM Yogi Adityanath, his two deputies Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, and UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary.
‘BJP needs to rework strategy to firm up footprints among OBCs, Dalits’
UP BJP state general secretary (organisation) Dharampal Singh will roll out the work plan of the party which it will take up in the coming days.
The meeting, which will be convened at the Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, will be attended by over 3,000 BJP workers and functionaries including MPs, MLAs, state party leaders, mayors, zila panchayat presidents among others.
BJP’s focus on augmenting social coalition comprising all castes and classes could potentially swing back the spotlight on saffron outfit’s damage control exercise after an underwhelming performance in the recently held Lok Sabha polls in which its tally slipped from 62 to just 33 seats in UP.
Sources said the party was alarmed by the sharpening stance of the opposition, primarily the SP and the Congress, which managed to nudge the saffron outfit while pitching for its PDA narrative.
BJP brass believes that the party will have to rework its strategy to firm up its footprints among OBCs and Dalits, the two key electoral blocs, which have been driving the saffron outfit’s successive poll victories since 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Consolidation of OBC and Dalits has been figuring prominently in the recent deliberations of the state leadership with the party high command. A host of BJP allies have been making the saffron brass uncomfortable by levelling allegations of discrimination against the backward classes.
Recently, BJP ally and Apna Dal (S) chief Anupriya Patel wrote to CM Yogi Adityanath, expressing concern over the rejection of OBC and SC/ST candidates on the pretext that they were “not suitable” for state govt jobs. She urged the CM to take effective measures to stop this practice.
The agenda of cultural nationalism is also expected to figure in the meeting. According to experts, the party has been riding high on cultural nationalism after the inauguration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya earlier this year.
We also published the following articles recently
Learn about the strategic deliberations at the UP BJP’s state executive meeting as they plan for the 2027 assembly elections. Find out how the party aims to address recent setbacks and prepare for upcoming by-polls by focusing on organizational changes and boosting cadre strength.