BJP's UP unit finding it difficult to defend some remarks by NDA allies

New Delhi: The BJP's spokespersons in Uttar Pradesh have told the party's national general secretary BL Santhosh that they are finding it difficult to defend on public forums some of the remarks made by the NDA allies, people in the know said.

The views were expressed at a recent closed-door meeting in the state.

Recently, three BJP allies in the state--Anupriya Patel of Apna Dal (S), Sanjay Nishad of Nishad Party, and OP Rajbhar of SBSP--expressed views which were seen as being against the government.

Patel wrote a letter to chief minister Yogi Aditya Nath saying that students from the OBC community don't get selected in interviews for state government jobs.

After that, on the birth anniversary of party founder Soney Lal Patel, she alleged that applicants from the OBC community were not treated fairly during the drive to recruit 69,000 teachers in the state.

Patel said the issue has not been resolved even after she requested the state government, and this damaged the NDA prospects in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

Nishad blamed the state government for not getting enough Nishad votes. "The demand for reservation for the Nishad community in the SC category in the state has been pending for a long time. The community, which voted for the BJP in 2019 and 2022, felt that the government was not serious, and a section drifted away from the NDA," he said.

Similarly, Rajbhar said at a meeting that his party workers and cadre voted for NDA candidates, but there was a dent in the Modi-Yogi vote of the BJP and that resulted in loss in Uttar Pradesh.

Several spokespersons said they find it difficult to respond to such statements from the allies and it gives the opposition a chance to attack the NDA.

Some spokespersons also highlighted the criticism from within the party after the poor poll performance and asked the leadership on how these could be defended in public. Former Kannauj parliamentarian Subrat Pathak said the party lost due to paper leaks in recruitment and competitive examinations.

Former BJP parliamentarian Ravindra Kushwaha alleged that his defeat from Salempur Lok Sabha seat was because of some party leaders. He alleged that state minister Vijay Laxmi Gautam and BJP Ballia district president Sanjay Yadav were part of a conspiracy behind his loss.

The spokespersons were also asked about whether they are noticing a change in behaviour of news anchors and reporters after the Lok Sabha elections. Some spokespersons said the opposition leaders are more aggressive than before.