A week after the declaration of the Lok Sabha results, the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh is still in shock over their defeat in several pockets and has gone for an internal audit to identify the reasons.

So far, more than 12 candidates, who have lost or won by a thin margin have sent reports to the party high command alleging anti-party activities by party leaders.

Advertisement

This time in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP surprisingly had to suffer the loss of almost half the seats. Even seven Union ministers had to face humiliating defeat.

The party high command has sought a booth-wise report to check the factionalism charges made by the BJP candidates, sources said here on Monday.

However, one of the other main reasons for the BJP defeat was due to shortcomings in the area of ticket distribution. There were many MPs against whom, in view of the prevailing atmosphere, local workers and officials had requested that they should not be given tickets, but their views were ignored and the candidates were imposed on them. Therefore, angry party workers also sat at home, the result of which was visible, a senior party functionary revealed.

According to insiders of the party, the fire of factionalism had started burning on many seats regarding ticket distribution, but the state organisation kept suppressing it. Instead of bringing this matter to the fore, the issue was ignored.

The big faces who lost, have also started blaming the party leaders for their defeat.

According to the report sent by party candidate Sakshi Maharaj, who has won from Unnao for the third time in a row, insiders are to be blamed for the reduced victory margin this time. He said the votes decreased because of some ‘traitors’ and ‘bluffers’ (‘aasteen ka saanp’) working within the party.

Former Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said the reason for her defeat in Fatehpur was the betrayal of some people within the party.

After winning from Mirzapur Lok Sabha seat for the third time, people close to Anupriya Patel also say that BJP workers worked only superficially from day one.

Union Minister of State Kaushal Kishore, who was defeated in Mohanlalganj seat, has also accused party workers of working against him. He says that he had informed the party leadership about this.

Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi, BJP’s Rampur candidate, has mainly blamed polarisation on religious lines for his defeat. He has also accused some party leaders of not cooperating. He said, ”The party organization has been informed about them. Not only the party, I am also reviewing the defeat.”

In Shravasti seat too, local party leaders accused a former MP and an influential BJP leader of ‘anti-Semitism’ and said that he made the party’s core voters, including Brahmins and Kurmis, vote against the party. Due to this Saket Mishra had to face defeat.

BJP candidate Neelam Sonkar, who lost from Lalganj seat, has also blamed the factionalism of local party officials for her defeat. She said that the party organisation was aware that some leaders had helped the SP candidate.

BJP MLA Nand Kishore Gurjar from Loni, Ghaziabad has alleged that several BJP candidates lost due to party factionalism. He says that some people have committed anti- party acts and the BJP was defeated as per their strategy.

There have also been allegations of corruption on many seats. Arun Govil, who won from Meerut, had hinted at a conspiracy against him after the elections. At the same time, the political war between Sanjeev Balyan, the candidate from Muzaffarnagar seat, and former BJP MLA Sangeet Som is well known.

Apart from Banda candidate RK Patel, allegations of factionalism have also been made in Basti, Barabanki, Faizabad, Sultanpur, Allahabad, Kaushambi, Badaun and Sitapur.

In seats like Kheri, Muzaffarnagar and Fatehpur, local MLAs and office bearers have been accused of not coming out to campaign for the candidates due to personal or local reasons.

Sources said it was recommended at the state level to cancel the tickets of about 36 sitting MPs including Machhlishahr, Bhadohi, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Lalganj, Sitapur, Basti, Chandauli, Faizabad. But, the high command again gave tickets to 24 of them, which proved to be a major reason for reducing the numerical strength of the BJP in UP.

Sources say that before the NDA meeting on Friday last, the BJP high command has seriously discussed the complaints of graffiti and factionalism in the election.

After a closed-door meeting that lasted for about two hours, the high command sought a report from the state organisation to identify the perpetrators. On this basis, the organization has sought reports from each booth in the state. Besides, booth-wise reports have also been sought from all the defeated candidates and winning MPs on each seat.