Ground report on shift of OBC votes prepared, to be presented before Yogi

LUCKNOW Three-member teams sent by the BJP’s OBC Morcha to all 80 constituencies of UP to ascertain reasons behind the shift of backward votes to the INDIA bloc in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls have prepared their reports, which are set to be submitted to OBC Morcha state president Narendra Kashyap by Saturday or Sunday.

“All teams will submit their report on Saturday or Sunday. I will submit them to the chief minister at the OBC Morcha’s meeting on July 29,” said Kashyap who is also state minister (independent charge) in the Yogi Adityanath government. “Before the meeting, I will also hold a separate meeting with all the 80 teams to get their feedback,” he pointed out.

OBCs form around 45% of the electorate in the state and seats dominated by them are mostly in the Awadh and Kashi regions.The UP BJP had enjoyed unwavering support of the OBC community in 2014 and 2019 LS elections and 2017 and 2022 state assembly polls.

But this vote bank shifted to the INDIA bloc in the recently concluded polls. This was one of the reasons behind BJP’s tally coming down to 33 seats from 62 in 2019. The INDIA bloc led by the Samajwadi Party won 43 seats.

The OBC Morcha’s exercise is not the only initiative of the state BJP to review the party’s poor show in this LS polls. The party organisation has already done its groundwork to take feedback from every region on the BJP’s below-par performance in the election.

The party had constituted 40 teams with two members each to visit all 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh. These teams have submitted their reports, pointing out reasons for the less than expected performance.

In their reports, party observers also stressed on reasons why candidates’ winning margin came down in the Lok Sabha seats that the party won.

Senior BJP and RSS leaders also came down to Lucknow after June 4, the day when LS poll results were declared. RSS sarkaryavah (general secretary) Dattatreya Hosabale was in Lucknow on a three-day visit from June 26. BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh was also in the state capital on a two-day visit from July 6 to 7.

Union health minister and BJP national president JP Nadda presided over the party’s state executive committee meeting here on July 14.

Senior RSS functionary sah sarkaryawah (joint general secretary) Arun Kumar was scheduled for a three-day visit to Lucknow on July 20. But it was postponed as it created much buzz in the media about “all is not well” between the government and the party organisation.

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