Delayed BJP organisational poll process in U.P. likely to be completed in Jan

BJP's district unit president elections in Uttar Pradesh, delayed due to pending nominations, are now expected to conclude in January, focusing on OBCs and Dalits.

Election of district unit presidents of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh was to be completed by the end of this year. However, the entire process has been delayed as nominations are yet to be filed.

Nomination process for election of district presidents is yet to start, said a UP BJP leader. (For Representation)

After completing the nomination process for 1918 posts of mandal chiefs (adhyaksh) across the state on December 15 in 98 districts, the party had to complete the nomination process for district presidents by December 31.

However, the final list of elected mandal chiefs is yet to be declared. The BJP has divided the state into 98 districts for organisational purposes. “Nomination process for election of district presidents is yet to start. The election process was to be completed by the end of this year. Now, most likely it will be completed in January,” said a senior BJP leader.

“There is nothing unusual in this delay. Elections get delayed. Next month, the process will be completed,” he added. While electing mandal adhyaksh and district presidents, the party will focus on giving maximum representation to OBCs and Dalits.

“In organisational polls, OBC and Dalit factors will matter most while electing mandal and district chiefs as part of the party’s plan to bring back these two politically important caste groups back into the party fold,” said a senior BJP leader.

In four successive poll victories in Uttar Pradesh—2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha and 2017, 2022 assembly polls—the BJP managed the most diverse representation minus Muslims by keeping its caste umbrella intact—broadly non-Jatav Dalits, non-Yadav OBCs and upper castes.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the SP’s PDA formulation succeeded in bringing a large chunk of OBC and Dalits into its fold, giving a jolt to the BJP. The BJP’s tally in Uttar Pradesh came down to 33 in the last Lok Sabha election from 62 in 2019.