The focus on a “repeat of 2017” reflects the BJP’s norm in Uttar Pradesh
Indicating an early push for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled early next year, BJP national president Nitin Nabin on Sunday said the party will contest the elections united with its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners, while asserting that the BJP is capable of fighting the elections on its own strength.
Speaking to reporters after his meeting with NDA allied leaders in Lucknow, Nabin exuded confidence that the alliance would retain power in the state with an “overwhelming majority” and said the BJP’s focus would be on strengthening coordination among allies.
“The BJP is capable of contesting the elections. We will ensure that all NDA voters continue to work together to make Uttar Pradesh ‘Uttam Pradesh’,” Nabin said.
“Our leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, have worked for the people in the spirit of service. We are fully confident that the NDA alliance will form the government with an overwhelming majority in the 2027 Assembly elections,” he added.
Series of meetings
The meeting with allies came on the heels of Nabin’s interaction earlier in the day with former BJP state presidents, where the leaders discussed preparations for the 2027 elections.
“We discussed that the government and the NDA will work together to repeat the 2017 performance and secure an even greater victory in 2027. All our NDA allies will remain united,” Deputy Prime Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said.
He also attacked the Samajwadi Party-led opposition, saying: “The people of Uttar Pradesh do not want Gunda Raj, mafia Raj, dynastic politics or riots. They want development, good governance and security.” He said that if the SP led by Akhilesh Yadav comes back to power, “land grabbing will return”.
Another former BJP president in the state, Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary, said the party remained committed to working closely with its allies.
Asked if the BJP’s weaker performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh had figured in the discussions, Chaudhary said: “After the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, you saw the by-election results, where the BJP won all the seats. We are fully prepared. Negative agenda does not work time and again. I am confident that the BJP will secure a bigger mandate in UP than it got in 2017.”
Why talk about 2017 replay?
The focus on a “repeat of 2017” reflects the BJP’s norm in Uttar Pradesh. In the 2017 Assembly elections, the BJP-led NDA, which includes the BJP, Apna Dal (Sonelal) and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), won 325 of the 403 seats, including 312 seats for the BJP alone.
In 2022, the BJP retained power with a reduced but comfortable majority, as the NDA – which then included the BJP, the Apna Dal (Sonelal) and the Nishad Party – won 273 seats, while the Samajwadi Party-led alliance improved its tally to 125 seats.
Among NDA voters, Rashtriya Lok Dal national general secretary Trilok Tyagi described the strategy for the upcoming elections as clear and straightforward.
“The formula is simple – the strongest alliance candidate capable of winning a seat will be fielded,” Tyagi said, expressing confidence that the NDA will retain power in 2027.
Nishad party president Sanjay Nishad said the discussions focused on improving synchronization between the alliance partners. “Our discussions focused on how all coalition partners can work in coordination, complement each other, and ensure better organizational synergy among workers to ensure victory,” Nishad said.
Regarding seat sharing, Nishad said: “This is a matter of the future. We got respectable seats earlier, and we expect the same in the future.”
Apna Dal (Sonial) leader Ashish Patel also said that the meeting focused on improving coordination between the BJP and its allies ahead of the elections.
Former Uttar Pradesh BJP president and Swatantra Minister Dev Singh said the party’s priority is to take the welfare schemes of Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Adityanath to every village.
“Our workers rise above caste, regionalism, individualism, family rule and dynastic politics, and are guided by nationalism,” Singh asserted, adding that the BJP’s cadre-based structure remains its greatest source of strength.
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