With its new UP president pick, BJP may counter SP's PDA pitch

Time of India

18 hours ago

Lucknow: The much-anticipated appointment of the new UP BJP chief may well be the saffron party's most vehement counter to the Samajwadi Party's Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak (PDA) poll narrative.
This narrative is said to have dented the ruling party by pulling down its tally from 62 to 33 in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in UP.
Sources said that the caste of the new UP BJP president is expected to define the roadmap of the BJP's strategic push, even if symbolic, in the run-up to the panchayat polls due next year and subsequently the 2027 state elections. A senior BJP leader mentioned that the party is weighing all options to counter the opposition's PDA with its 'P-D' (Pichhda/OBC-Dalit) card, a move expected to be reflected in the party's choice for the new UP BJP president.
The most prominent names from the OBC community include Union minister BL Verma, Jal Shakti minister Swatantra Dev Singh, animal husbandry minister Dharampal Singh, Rajya Sabha MP Baburam Nishad, and MLC Ashok Kataria. Likewise, from the Scheduled Castes category, former MP Ram Shankar Katheria and MLC Vidyasagar Sonkar are in the race.
Call it a coincidence, the UP BJP, in recent years, elected OBC state presidents just before state elections.
It was Keshav Maurya before 2017 and Swatantra Dev Singh before 2022. The incumbent state president, Bhupendra Chaudhary, a Jat, was appointed by the party in 2022 after Swatantra Dev was inducted into the Yogi Adityanath cabinet. Chaudhary's tenure ended earlier this year.
A senior BJP leader affirmed that the party sought to push a prominent OBC or Dalit leader who could steer the party's poll prospects and help in the consolidation of non-Yadav, non-Jatav vote banks.
"The party leadership will take its time in appointing the most suitable candidate. Nevertheless, the organisation is being run at a smooth pace," said UP BJP spokesperson Hero Bajpai.
Experts asserted that the appointment of the UP BJP president was not merely about filling a post. It was being positioned as a high-stakes move to reshape caste equations, reclaim the narrative, and reassert the BJP's relevance in a state where caste factors prominently in determining electoral destiny.
The choice of a new state chief also represents a broader political recalibration in response to the party's 2024 Lok Sabha setbacks, particularly in the caste-sensitive terrain of UP.
Analysts said that the Samajwadi Party's PDA formula successfully disrupted the BJP's dominance by forging a bottom-up caste coalition that resonated on the ground. "It is all about symbolism. The caste of the next BJP state president is expected to serve as a signal to key voter groups who are valued as key stakeholders in the BJP's power structure," an analyst said.
He said that by installing a leader from the 'P-D' (Pichhda–Dalit) communities, the BJP may potentially seek to fracture the PDA axis around which the SP and allies seek to consolidate their position.
A senior BJP leader said that the 2025 panchayat elections will serve as a testing ground for the BJP's new social engineering. The leadership pick will also influence the 2027 assembly election narrative, particularly if the BJP attempts a Pasmanda Muslim outreach alongside its P-D formula.