It’s the “problem of plenty” for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, where the party had to face a humiliating defeat in the recently-concluded Assembly polls. The poll loss analysis by the party has shown that “too many unofficial chief ministerial candidates” affected the BJP’s poll performance. Growing dissidence in the state unit is another factor which resulted in the BJP’s dismal performance in the Assembly polls. As compared to the previous Assembly polls in the state, the BJP lost three seats and managed only 48 Assembly seats this time. The BJP top brass had asked its leaders to prepare an Assembly-wise poll loss analysis. The BJP Central leadership will soon meet to review the poll debacle.
Sources disclosed the overall report, which is a compilation of the Assembly-wise poll loss analysis, has revealed that too many senior party leaders in the state were leading their own “individual” campaigns. The report has also highlighted that there was no “unanimity” among senior leaders, as a result, BJP workers were divided into “camps”. The report also states that there was no single leader to lead the BJP’s campaign in the state. The report has also pointed out that the BJP failed to highlight its main poll planks of corruption and deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
The poll loss analysis has also shown that “wrong choice” of candidates and “multiple hierarchy” in the BJP’s election management team also led to “confusion” among party workers.
Sources said a section of the BJP’s UP unit had complained to the BJP top brass that factionalism was one of the main reasons of some of the party heavyweights, including state unit chief Surya Pratap Shahi, losing his Assembly seat.