Overconfidence hurt BJP's hopes in Lok Sabha polls, opines Adityanath

Lucknow: In the first major meeting of the Uttar Pradesh BJP unit after the Lok Sabha poll debacle in the state, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said "overconfidence" hurt the BJP's hopes in this year's elections. Addressing the BJP's UP working committee meeting here, Adityanath said while the BJP managed managed to maintain its vote share of previous elections, there was a "shifting of votes", and now the "defeated" opposition is "jumping around" again.

The chief minister said, "Under the leadership of PM Modi, we had maintained constant pressure on the opposition in UP, achieving great success in 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2022 (national and State elections)." "The percentage of votes that BJP had in its favour in 2014 and subsequent elections, BJP has been successful in getting the same number of votes in 2024 as well, but shifting of votes and overconfidence have hurt our hopes," he said.

"The Opposition, which had earlier accepted defeat, is again jumping around today," the chief minister said at the concluding session of the day-long meeting at Ambedkar Auditorium of Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University in Lucknow. Adityanath's remarks come after a day after the BJP-led NDA's dismal performance in by-elections in seven States.

INDIA bloc members won the bypolls to 10 of the 13 assembly constituencies, while the BJP managed to bag two and an Independent pocketed one seat. In the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won 33 seats, down from 62 it clinched in 2019. The Congress won six seats, while its INDIA bloc ally Samajwadi Party bagged 37 seats from UP, which sends 80 members to the Lower House of Parliament.

In a veiled attack at opposition parties, Adityanath warned against the "sin of dividing" people along caste lines, which he said was committed during the elections. "The world knows that if our society is scattered, it will easily fall, but if it is united, even the biggest powers will fall in front of it," he said.

"We have to use social media platforms as much as possible. Using social media, the Opposition and foreigners were involved in a conspiracy and were successful in it," the chief minister said. The BJP, however, has a nationalist vision, he added. INDIA bloc leaders had attacked the BJP saying it wanted to end reservations during the Lok Sabha poll campaign. Adityanath said, "BJP workers will have to see what is going on in social media. We will have to immediately refute the rumours. We have to talk about the BJP's views about the great men of Scheduled Castes. In 2019, we had defeated the biggest alliance in the State."

"We do not discriminate on the basis of caste, religion or creed. Eighty crore people are not getting free ration on the basis of caste or religion," the chief minister said. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, hunger-related deaths and suicides did not happen and it was eradicated successfully under the leadership of PM Modi, he said. He said the BJP, however, does not have to "go on the backfoot" since they have done good work. Addressing party workers, he said, "When you were in the opposition, you used to fight for the issues of the people. When you were in government, you saw the security environment in UP. Remember, roads used to be empty during Muharram, and today, it is being held without attracting any attention." Adityanath said he had met party leader JP Nadda -- who was present at Sunday's meeting -- to eradicate encephalitis from eastern UP.

Nadda, who is the Union health minister, held the same portfolio in the first term of PM Modi. "When JP Nadda ji became the country's health minister, I met him as an MP. Our government gave priority to encephalitis and we completely eradicated the disease which had been terrorising Purvanchal for more than 40 years," he said. Praising the law and order in the state, Adityanath said, "After the 2022 (UP assembly) elections, the Opposition started jumping around and resorted to violence. But with your support in our government's 'mafia-free UP' campaign, we succeeded in freeing the state from goons and mafia."

Adityanath urged party leaders to gear up for assembly bypolls and the 2027 assembly elections. "Everyone will have to be active from now on for the assembly by-elections to be held for 10 seats in the State and the 2027 assembly elections. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, MLAs, MLCs, zila panchayat chairmen, mayors, block pramukhs and councilors, everyone should start preparing for the 2027 assembly elections from today itself," he said "We have to hoist the flag of BJP in the state once again," Adityanath added. The Election Commission is yet to announce the schedule for the assembly bypolls in Uttar Pradesh.