Lucknow: Amid a turbulent political landscape in Uttar Pradesh, Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary, the president of the BJP state unit, held a critical meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, fueling rumors of a significant leadership overhaul.
Reports indicate that Chaudhary took responsibility for the party's recent electoral defeat and offered his resignation during the meeting in Delhi.
On Wednesday evening, CM Yogi Adityanath also met Governor Anandiben Patel at the Raj Bhavan.
Speculation is rife that the BJP leadership is considering appointing an OBC leader as its new state chief to recover from the poll setback and prepare for the 2027 assembly elections.
The situation escalated further when Chaudhary and Uttar Pradesh's Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya separately met with BJP national president J P Nadda on Tuesday. These meetings occurred against a backdrop of internal dissent within the party.
Maurya had said organization is always bigger than govt
A recent comment by Maurya at a state party meeting intensified these tensions. Maurya had remarked, "Organization is always bigger than government and no one can be bigger than the organization."
Maurya said this in the presence of Yogi Adityanath and Nadda at a BJP Working Committee meeting in Lucknow on Sunday attended by top leaders including Nadda. This comment highlighted the existing differences between Maurya and Adityanath.
On the other hand, CM Adityanath attributed the electoral losses to "over-confidence" and suggested that the party failed to counter the opposition INDIA bloc's campaign effectively.
Maurya's assertion about the organization's supremacy over the government is not new. In 2015, he made a similar statement at a BJP Working Committee meeting.
Maurya also reiterated this stance on social media on Wednesday, stating, "The organization is bigger than the government,the pain of workers is my pain, no one is bigger than the organization, the worker is the pride."
Maurya's post after his meeting with Nadda fuels speculation
The timing of Maurya's social media post, which came after his meeting with JP Nadda in Delhi, has fueled further speculation about his relationship with CM Adityanath. The Bharatiya Janata Party and Maurya have remained silent about the details of this meeting.
Senior ministers and leaders within the Uttar Pradesh BJP have also refrained from commenting on the matter, maintaining a conspicuous silence amid the ongoing speculation and internal strife.
What political observers say?
Some political observers feel Yogi Adityanath's working style has been centralized, in which he does not give importance to anyone in the organization or cabinet except himself. People were tolerating it till now because they felt that Yogi would benefit them in the elections.
They feel that BJP's seats have decreased in the Lok Sabha elections and due to this people have become vocal. It seems that such people are being led by Keshav Prasad Maurya. In the year 2017, Maurya was the state president of BJP and under his leadership the party formed the government with full majority in Uttar Pradesh.
Some people also believe that the party high command also has a hand in whatever is happening, it is believed that whether it is Keshav Prasad Maurya or Bhupendra Chaudhary, they get encouragement from Delhi only.
A popular CM
However, Yogi Adityanath is seen by his supporters as a popular chief minister who has aggressively pursued the party's Hindutva agenda and maintained a firm grip on law and order.
A senior party leader acknowledged that comments from several leaders in the state have dented its image of a disciplined party but added that it was also expected as they needed to vent out their feelings after suffering a defeat which few saw coming.
On the other hand Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has mocked BJP over these developments. "The people of Uttar Pradesh are suffering in this battle for power," Yadav told reporters at the party headquarters in Lucknow.
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