On a winning streak, ‘UP Ke Ladke’ left a severe dent on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the party’s strongholds by securing 16 of out 27 seats in Uttar Pradesh’s Purvanchal (East) region, bringing down BJP-led NDA’s tally from 20 seats (which it had secured in 2019 LS Polls) to 11.
Not only did the NDA suffer a loss of nine seats in Purvanchal, but the duo of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav, a part of INDI Alliance, who were widely referred as ‘UP Ke Ladke’ during 2024 Lok Sabha Elections campaign, also grasped another set of six seats, won by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 2019 LS Polls from the region, further bringing down its tally to zero.
Of the total 16 seats, which went into INDI alliance’s kitty, SP won 15 seats including Azamgarh, Machhlishahr (SC), Ballia, Basti, Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Sant Kabir Nagar, Chandauli, Ambedkarnagar, Shrawasti, Lalganj (SC), Jaunpur, Ghosi, Ghazipur and NDA partner Apna Dal’s (S) Robertsganj seat. Congress’s victory on the Allahabad seat took the tally to 16. SP’s score came in contrast with its previous score when it managed to bag mere one seat – Azamgarh – in 2019 Lok Sabha Polls. It was the seat from where Akhilesh had himself contested. But after winning the assembly elections, he left this seat and BJP captured this seat in the by-elections.
The seats which the BJP managed to win are Phulpur, Dumariyaganj, Bhadohi, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon, Salempur and Mirzapur. And the seats which it won in 2019 and lost this time include Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Machhlishahar, Ballia, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Chandauli and its allies Apna Dal’s (S) Robertsganj seat.
UP’s Purvanchal region accounts for 27 Lok Sabha seats, of which 14 voted in the sixth phase of 2024 Lok Sabha Elections while the remaining 13 seats went to polls in the seventh and final phase held on June 1. Most-watched among these are Varanasi constituency, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi contested for the third time, and Yogi Adityanath’s home turf Gorakhpur, where the BJP fielded actor-politician Ravi Kishan. Besides, BJP had pressed all its heavyweights into action here with PM Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath leading the charge with nine and 28 rallies, respectively, in Purvanchal. In public meetings, road shows and rallies across eastern UP, the leaders headlined their speeches with the state government’s crackdown on ‘mafia’, alleging that their rivals’ record on the same has been dismal.
But, what are the possible factors which led to BJP’s defeat in the region, often considered among BJP’s strongholds? UP’s political observers largely blamed ‘Thakurwaad or Thakur politics’ behind BJP’s loss and also giving importance to irrelevant issues like ‘mafia raj’ and ‘Ram temple’ while ignoring local and developmental issues.
“Purvanchal or East UP is not only known as UP CM’s home turf but is also a Thakur dominated region. There are big ‘Thakur’ names which include Kunda MLA and Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik) chief Raghuraj Pratap Singh, popularly known as Raja Bhaiya, former MP and strongman politician Dhananjay Singh and other notable Thakur leaders such as Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Brijesh Singh, and Abhay Singh play crucial roles. These leaders, whose influence extends beyond their constituencies, hold substantial sway in Purvanchal when it comes to UP Politics. What possibly led to the resentment among the Thakur leaders in Purvanchal was the alleged disrespect towards the Thakur community and the ‘odd’ ticket distribution. And the trigger point of all was the the controversial statement of BJP leader Parsottam Rupala, who contested from Rajkot, Gujarat and it got further fuelled by allegations of Kshatriya history distortion, especially on the Mihir Bhoj row and other crucial issues,” pointed out Manoj Singh, a political analyst who hails from Gorakhpur district.
With inputs from News18